Ferris’s Wheel

Pleasure wheels were nothing new in 1893, but this one was something else.

Billed as the American answer to the Eiffel Tower, this giant steel wheel had been designed by George Ferris, a serious steel engineer. Ferris had almost certainly seen 50-foot wooden roundabout wheels like the ones installed at Coney Island and Atlantic City, but what he envisioned would not merely entertain. It would cause the whole world to stop and take a look.

We’re talking 264 feet tall, with 36 cars, and up to 60 riders in each car.

Was this really a spinning, rotating Eiffel Tower?

Not literally, no—the wheel was only about a quarter as tall, and the Eiffel Tower was made of iron, not steel. Still, this was truly impressive: Ferris had created a monumental machine. This was not like some giant castle with a drawbridge attached, but instead the entire thing was a machine itself.

It simply wouldn’t do to call these new steel contraptions pleasure wheels—they needed a new first name. George Ferris’s last name was the logical choice.

There have been a handful of times when someone’s name became attached to an existing invention or product, and that name has become famous around the world. Teddy Roosevelt lent his name to the teddy bear, even though he didn’t invent stuffed animals. John Mason didn’t invent glass jars with lids, but mason jars bear his name for good reason.

Likewise, George Ferris didn’t exactly invent anything new, but he did something that caused the world to stop what it was doing and take a look.