Ferris, the Valentine's Day inventor: Ferris wheels, romantic scary landmarks

Answering scepticism, the engineer put up $25,000 of his own money for blueprints. The giant wheel, 250 feet in diameter, which ultimately cost $400,000 to build and more than paid for itself in the cost of 20-minute rides.Ferris started his career in metal-testing for railroads and such, and even founded his own company. He founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the City of Pittsburgh designated it a historic landmark.Ferris did not follow in his father's footsteps, but became an engineer. Spurred on by a challenge to top the Eiffel Tower, which had appeared at the 1889 Paris World's Fair, he answered a challenge for the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and proposed a giant wheel—based on a water wheel. View the list »
George Washington Gale Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris wheel

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Ferris wheels are the ultimate “romantic” ride. They bear the couple way up above the city, affording uncluttered views and a modicum of privacy. The carriages bring lovers to the very apex of the circle, then stop, giving them a few moments to admire the view or have a good cuddle. When the very first Ferris wheel was put into motion in 1893, the world had never seen anything like it.

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Of course, for those scared of heights, the Ferris wheel offers a plunging stomach and terror, requiring the terrified one to huddle up against the partner...something quite possibly planned.

The 2013 Valentine's Day Google doodle provides an amusing skit on this, putting random animal couples together on the wheel and then showing a cartoon about the not-so-perfect date that follows.

Ferris wheels were not invented for Valentine's Day, though they might as well have been. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. of Illinois was born to a farmer on Valentine's Day 1859. A Pennsylvania historical marker tells the brief story of this man, born on Valentine's Day, and his historic invention.

View our list for the story of the first Ferris wheel, and George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.'s lasting romantic legacy.

View the list
  • Ferris did not follow in his father's footsteps, but became an engineer. Spurred on by a challenge to top the Eiffel Tower, which had appeared at the 1889 Paris World's Fair, he answered a challenge for the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and proposed a giant wheel—based on a water wheel. 
  • Ferris started his career in metal-testing for railroads and such, and even founded his own company. He founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the City of Pittsburgh designated it a historic landmark.
  • Answering scepticism, the engineer put up $25,000 of his own money for blueprints. The giant wheel, 250 feet in diameter, which ultimately cost $400,000 to build and more than paid for itself in the cost of 20-minute rides.
  • The original Ferris wheel had 36 60-person cars. Forty people could sit; the rest could only stand. Its capacity was therefore in the region of 2,000 people at a time. At 50 cents a pop, it quickly paid for itself. 
  • After the World's Fair, Ferris claims that the organizers did not pay him his agreed-on share of the $750,000 profits, and thus spent the next two years in litigation. How unromantic.
  • The very first Ferris wheel was reassembled for the 1904 World's Fair, but was ultimately dynamited and sold for scrap. Ferris himself did not witness this indignity. He died of typhoid fever in 1896.
  • Lovers and kids around the world embraced the idea, though, and the invention of a man born on Valentine's Day still delights, terrifies and captures the imagination today. 
View the list
Suggested by the author:

, National Historic Landmarks Examiner

Linda Gentile is the owner-operator of Markeroni.com, the oldest online community for finding and showcasing historical markers, plaques and historic landmarks. Ever the heritage tourist, she writes for a living and travels around by RV and motorcycle. Contact her through her website.

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