The great Ferris Wheel on the Midway Plaisance of the World’s Columbian Exposition opened to the public on June 21, 1893. A North Carolina visitor to the 1893 World’s Fair sent this correspondence to the Charlotte Observer about his experience riding the famous Ferris Wheel: Yesterday we spent the day in the Midway Plaisance. Among the first of our experiences was a ride on the great Ferris Wheel. This immense structure, consuming in its various parts over 4,000 tons [...]

Halcyon Days in the Dream City by Mrs. D. C. Taylor Continued from Part 6 In the very centre, midway of “The Midway” stands a high wooden enclosure, and rising above it like a gigantic spider’s-web, the "Ferris Wheel." After the usual “open sesame" we enter the enclosure, and mounting a flight of steps find ourselves upon a high platform with the revolving monster only a few feet distant, but protected by a stout wooden paling. We, with some [...]

The great Ferris Wheel on the Midway Plaisance of the World’s Columbian Exposition opened to the public on June 21, 1893. The following account comes from Mrs. Julia Waugh, whose letter describing her ride on the Ferris Wheel was published in the July 7, 1893, issue of the Crawfordsville (IN) Weekly Journal. She notes that her “memorable trip” was taken the second day after the opening of the attraction, when 1,000 tickets were purchased in the first two hours. [...]