People and Organizations That Steel Our Heart

George W. Ferris

Another famous George called Pittsburgh home, but his invention was much larger in scale than a small lighter. Although George Ferris was not born in Pittsburgh, he found civil engineering work here after attending college in New York. Ferris was a local bridge builder who conceived of the idea for one of the single-most recognizable rides at any carnival or fair: the Ferris Wheel.

While in Pittsburgh, Ferris worked on constructing steel frameworks for bridges and tunnels. He had bigger dreams than bridges; he wanted to outdo the Eiffel Tower, which had caused so much public excitement at the Paris Exhibition in 1889. His initial sketch of the wheel was so detailed he even factored in the ticket price to ride it. However, upon presenting his idea to the committee of the World’s Columbian Exhibition, they were amazed at the sheer size of his invention. So much so, in fact, that the committee dismissed Ferris as a crackpot. Not to be dissuaded, he returned a short time later with the backing of several engineers who declared its safety and stability along with the $400,000 in grants needed to build it. Not surprisingly, this time his idea was approved.

The Ferris Wheel’s debut was on June 21, 1893, at the Chicago Exhibition, and was undoubtedly the focal point of the event. No one had ever seen anything like it – it resembled a gigantic bicycle wheel that was not only able to withstand Chicago’s brutal winds, but operate efficiently with five times more than the amount of weight that would ever be on it. At its first showing during the Exhibition, the Ferris Wheel carried an estimated 1 ½ million riders.

Sadly, Ferris spent the next two years of his life in litigation because it was believed that the owners of the Exhibition robbed him and his investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. To make matters worse, owners of places like Coney Island stole Ferris’ idea and illegally profited from it. Ferris died suddenly in 1896, but left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.

“Inventor of the Week.” http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/ferris.html May 1999. 14 April
2007.

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