The original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was designed and built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as the centerpiece of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

Intended as an attraction in the same manner as the 1889 Paris Exposition’s 324-metre (1,063 ft) Eiffel Tower, the Ferris Wheel was the Columbian Exposition’s tallest attraction, with a height of 80.4 . metres (264 ft).

he Ferris Wheel was dismantled then rebuilt in Lincoln Park, Chicago, in 1895, and
dismantled and rebuilt a third and final time for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was ultimately demolished in 1906.