Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
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F ront Runners More than 1.5 million people rode the world's first Ferris wheel at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. wheel of fortune T he 1893 World's Columbian Exposition saw some exciting firsts: The public was introduced to Cracker Jack, Juicy Fruit chewing gum, and an early prototype of the zipper at the 600-acre fair in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side. But it was the debut of the Ferris wheel that proved most enchanting. Created for the so-called "White City," the 264-foot-high circular marvel towered above the nearly 200 neoclassical buildings. When creator George W. Ferris blew a golden whistle on June 21, 1893, to mark the structure's inaugural turn, the effect was breathtaking: a gracefully spinning spectacle of 952 tons of steel. The invention was immediately hailed as a triumph of engineering, and during the exhibition more than 1.5 million riders would enter its cars to view Lake Michigan and Chicago in all their splendor. The added novelty of 3,000 electric lights on the wheel made the sights even more dazzling. Although many had initially expressed doubts about the revolving wheel, deeming Ferris "the man with wheels in his head," the determined inventor transformed his vision into a reality that continues to captivate, turn after turn. MA 8 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM ON JUNE 21, 1893, THE FERRIS WHEEL MADE ITS PREMIERE SPIN AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. BY IRISH MAE SILVESTRE MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 008_MA_FOB_FR_MayJune13.indd 8 4/16/13 10:48 AM