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This particular ferris wheel "Splendid" was found in Cannes, France
A Ferris wheel is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, capsules, gondolas, or pods) attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, they are kept upright, usually by gravity. Some of the largest modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on the outside of the rim, with electric motors to independently rotate each car to keep it upright. These wheels are sometimes referred to as observation wheels and their cars referred to as capsules. However, these alternative names are also used for wheels with conventional gravity-oriented cars.
The original Ferris Wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The generic term Ferris wheel, now used in American English for all such structures, has become the most common type of amusement ride at state fairs in the United States.
The current tallest Ferris wheel is the 167.6-metre (550 ft) High Roller in Las Vegas, Nevada, which opened to the public in March 2014.
The original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was designed and constructed by Ferris Jr.
With a height of 80.4 metres (264 ft) it was the tallest attraction at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, where it opened to the public on June 21, 1893. It was intended to rival the 324-metre (1,063 ft) Eiffel Tower, the center piece of the 1889 Paris Exposition.
Ferris was a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bridge-builder. He began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for structural steel and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.
The wheel rotated on a 71-ton, 45.5-foot axle comprising what was at that time the world's largest hollow forging, manufactured in Pittsburgh by the Bethlehem Iron Company and weighing 89,320 pounds, together with two 16-foot-diameter (4.9 m) cast-iron spiders weighing 53,031 pounds.
There were 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, giving a total capacity of 2,160. The wheel carried some 38,000 passengers daily and took 20 minutes to complete two revolutions, the first involving six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter and the second a nine-minute non-stop rotation, for which the ticket holder paid 50 cents.
The Exposition ended in October 1893, and the wheel closed in April 1894 and was dismantled and stored until the following year. It was then rebuilt on Chicago's North Side, near Lincoln Park, next to an exclusive neighborhood. This prompted William D. Boyce, then a local resident, to file a Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel to have it removed, but without success. It operated there from October 1895 until 1903, when it was again dismantled, then transported by rail to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair and finally destroyed by controlled demolition using dynamite on May 11, 1906.
Antique Ferris wheels
The Wiener Riesenrad (German for "Viennese Giant Wheel") is a surviving example of nineteenth-century Ferris wheels. Erected in 1897 in the Wurstelprater section of Prater public park in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria, to celebrate Emperor Franz Josef I's Golden Jubilee, it has a height of 64.75 metres (212 ft) and originally had 30 passenger cars. A demolition permit for the Riesenrad was issued in 1916, but due to a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.
Following the demolition of the 100-metre (328 ft) Grande Roue de Paris in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel. In 1944 it burnt down, but was rebuilt the following year with 15 passenger cars, and remained the world's tallest extant wheel until its 97th year, when the 85-metre (279 ft) Technocosmos was constructed for Expo '85, at Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Still in operation today, it is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and over the years has featured in numerous films (including Madame Solange d`Atalide (1914), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), The Third Man (1949), The Living Daylights (1987), Before Sunrise (1995)) and novels.
World's tallest Ferris wheels
Chronology of world's tallest-ever wheels
•1893: the original Ferris Wheel was 80.4 metres (264 ft) tall. Built for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, it was moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and demolished there in 1906.
•1895: the Great Wheel was built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court, London, UK, and was 94 metres (308 ft) tall.[15] Construction began in March 1894[16] and it opened to the public on 17 July 1895. It stayed in service until 1906 and was demolished in 1907, having carried over 2.5 million passengers.
•1900: the Grande Roue de Paris was built for the Exposition Universelle, a world's fair held in Paris, France. It was demolished in 1920,[8] but its 100-metre (328 ft) height was not surpassed until almost 90 years after its construction.
•1920: the Wiener Riesenrad was built to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, at the entrance of the Wurstelprater amusement park in Austria's capital Vienna. Constructed in 1897, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel with 64.75-metre (212 ft), and it remained so for the next 65 years until 1985, its 97th year.
•1985: Technocosmos, later renamed Technostar, was an 85-metre (279 ft) tall giant Ferris wheel, originally built for the Expo '85 World Fair in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. Work began on dismantling Technostar in November 2009.
•1989: the Cosmo Clock 21 was built for the YES '89 Yokohama Exposition at Minato Mirai 21, Yokohama, Japan. Originally constructed with a height of 107.5 metres (353 ft),it was dismantled in 1997 and then in 1999 relocated onto a taller base which increased its overall height to 112.5 metres (369 ft).
•1992: Igosu 108 at Biwako Tower, Shiga, Japan, opened April 26 at 108 metres (354 ft) tall, hence its name. It has since been moved to Vietnam, where it opened as the Sun Wheel on a new base, now totaling 115 metres (377 ft) tall.
•1997: the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, in Osaka, Japan, opened to the public on 13 July, and is 112.5 metres (369 ft) tall.
•1999: the Daikanransha at Palette Town in Odaiba, Japan, is 115 metres (377 ft) tall.
•2000: the London Eye, in London, United Kingdom, is 135 metres (443 ft) tall. Although officially opened on 31 December 1999, it did not open to the public until March 2000, because of technical problems.
•2006: the Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, opened for business in May and is 160 metres (525 ft) tall.
•2008: the Singapore Flyer, in Singapore, is 165 metres (541 ft) tall. It started rotating on 11 February, and officially opened to the public on 1 March 2008.
•2014: the High Roller, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, is 167.6 metres (550 ft) tall. It opened to the public on 31 March 2014, and is currently the world's tallest Ferris wheel in operation.
•2020: the Ain Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is 250 metres (820 ft) tall. It is due to open in 2020.
Une grande roue ou roue panoramique est une variante de très grande taille des manèges.
L'attraction est constituée d'une roue à la verticale ainsi que de nacelles attachées à la jante où montent les passagers. La première grande roue fut conçue par George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. à l'occasion de l'Exposition universelle de 1893 à Chicago. On trouve généralement les grandes roues dans les parcs d'attractions ou les fêtes foraines, mais depuis l'inauguration de London Eye, la grande roue de Londres, on en trouve de plus en plus dans les centres-villes.
Son but est principalement de donner aux passagers une vue panoramique sur une ville, en tournant à une vitesse modérée, voire parfois très lente. Elle n'est majoritairement pas une attraction à sensations, excepté les quelques effets éventuels de vertige dus à la hauteur en la faisant pivoter, de légers balancements dus au vent, ou d'effets inattendus de descentes, comme sur la Pixar Pal-A-Round.
La première évocation d'une grande roue à proprement parler figure dans les journaux de voyages de Peter Mundy, un navigateur et voyageur britannique du XVIIe siècle, originaire de Penryn en Cornouailles. Lors de son exploration de l'empire ottoman, il passe quelques jours à Plovdiv en Bulgarie et évoque les différents systèmes de balançoires à but festif, dont les moins dangereuses, pour les enfants seraient les ancêtres de la grande roue.
La grande roue « moderne » voit le jour grâce à George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., diplômé de Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, il fabriquait des ponts à Pittsburgh en Pennsylvanie. Il commença sa carrière dans l'industrie des voies ferrées, puis fut intéressé par la construction des ponts. Ferris comprit le besoin croissant d'acier de construction et fonda G.W.G. Ferris & Co. à Pittsburgh, une entreprise qui testait et contrôlait les métaux utilisés pour les voies ferrés et les ponts.
Ferris conçut la première grande roue, à l'occasion de l'exposition universelle de 1893 à Chicago1. La grande roue était censée être une attraction rivale de la tour Eiffel, l'œuvre centrale de l'Exposition universelle de Paris de 1889. Ce fut l'attraction la plus imposante de l'exposition, du haut de ses 80 mètres, elle était constituée de deux moteurs à vapeur et pouvait supporter 2 160 personnes. Elle contenait 36 nacelles de 60 places chacune (40 assises et 20 debout). Cela prenait vingt minutes pour que la roue fasse deux tours. Au premier tour, six arrêts permettaient aux passagers de monter et de descendre et le deuxième tour était complet sans arrêt. Le ticket coutait 50 cents à l'époque. À la fin de l'exposition universelle, la grande roue fut déplacée près d'un quartier huppé du nord de Chicago. Elle fut à nouveau utilisée pour l'exposition universelle de Saint-Louis dans le Missouri en 1904, qui célébrait le centenaire de l'acquisition de la Louisiane. Elle fut démantelée en 19062. Son axe, qui pesait 70 tonnes, a été le plus grand projet forgé de tous les temps. Des morceaux de cette grande roue furent utilisés pour construire un pont au-dessus de la rivière Kankakee, à 72 km au sud de Chicago3.
La seconde grande roue construite mesure 94 mètres. Nommée Gigantic Wheel (« roue géante »), elle fut construite à Londres dans le quartier d'Earls Court en 1895 sur le modèle de celle de Chicago. Les concepteurs de cette roue, deux Australiens, Adam Gaddelin et Gareth Watson, en construiront ensuite plus de 200.
La troisième installation fut édifiée en 1897, elle mesure 65 mètres. Conçue par Hubert Cecil Booth, elle se situe dans le parc du Prater à Vienne (Autriche). Elle tourne aujourd'hui encore et reste l'un des symboles du parc.
Une grande roue fut construite lors de l'Exposition universelle de 1900 à Paris avenue de Suffren (actuel village suisse), elle avait un diamètre de 106 mètres et comportait 80 nacelles (contre 36 pour celle de Chicago) pouvant contenir chacune 20 personnes4. Elle fut démolie en 19375. La grande roue de la jetée de Santa Monica est, avec celle de la jetée centrale de Blackpool, un des rares exemples de grande roue non édifiés sur terre ferme.
Certaines versions récentes permettent d'avoir des nacelles mobiles par rapport à la distance avec l'axe et ainsi se rapprocher du centre de la roue durant la rotation sans être cantonnée au seul périmètre de la roue (par exemple Pixar Pal-A-Round à Disney California Adventure).
Une autre évolution de la grande roue est constituée de plusieurs grandes roues reliés à l'aide de bras hydrauliques comme le Sky Whirl (Six Flags Great America, Illinois) conçu par la société Intamin.
Certaines grandes roues sont désormais transportables et itinérantes et s'installent dans les plus grands centres-villes.
Certains propriétaires de grande roue préfèrent le terme de « roue panoramique » (« observation wheel ») à celui de grande roue, c'est souvent le cas pour les roues les plus imposantes, même si elles ressemblent fortement à la grande roue originale de Ferris. Souvent en centre-ville, elles visent à observer la ville de haut avec un but panoramique.
Plusieurs grandes roues célèbres sont décrites comme panoramiques par leur concepteur, parmi elles figurent le Singapore Flyer6, mais également le London Eye7 à Londres ou encore la High Roller à Las Vegas.
Richmond Castle in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, stands in a commanding position above the River Swale, close to the centre of the town of Richmond. It was originally called Riche Mount, 'the strong hill'. The castle was constructed from 1071 onwards following the Norman Conquest of England, and the Domesday Book of 1086 refers to 'a castlery' at Richmond.
In 1069 William the Conqueror had put down a rebellion at York which was followed by his "harrying of the North" – an act of ethnic cleansing which depopulated large areas for a generation or more. As a further punishment, he divided up the lands of north Yorkshire among his most loyal followers. Alan Rufus, of Brittany, received the borough of Richmond and began constructing the castle to defend against further rebellions and to establish a personal power base. His holdings, called the Honour of Richmond, covered parts of eight counties and amounted to one of the most extensive Norman estates in England. The Dukes of Brittany became the owners of the castle as Earls of Richmond though it was often confiscated for various periods by English Kings.
A 100-foot (30 m)-high keep of honey-coloured sandstone was constructed at the end of the 12th century by Duke Conan IV of Brittany. The Earldom of Richmond was seized in 1158 by Henry II of England. [a] It was King Henry II who probably completed the keep which had 11-foot (3.4 m)-thick walls. Modern visitors can climb to the top of the keep for magnificent views of the town of Richmond. At the same time that the keep was probably completed, Henry II considerably strengthened the castle by adding towers and a barbican. Henry III and King Edward I spent more money on the site including Edward's improvements to the keep interior.
In addition to the main circuit of the wall, there was the barbican in front of the main gate which functioned as a sealed entry space, allowing visitors and wagons to be checked before they gained entry to the castle itself. On the other side of the castle, overlooking the river, was another enclosure or bailey called the Cockpit, which may have functioned as a garden and was overlooked by a balcony. A drawing of 1674 suggests there was another longer balcony overlooking the river side of Scolland's Hall, the Great Hall.
Richmond Castle had fallen out of use as a fortress by the end of the 14th century and it did not receive major improvements after that date. A survey of 1538 shows it was partly in ruins, but paintings by Turner and others, together with the rise of tourism and an interest in antiquities, led to repairs to the keep in the early 19th century.
In 1855 the castle became the headquarters of the North Yorkshire Militia, and a military barracks block was constructed in the great courtyard. For two years, from 1908 to 1910, the castle was the home of Robert Baden-Powell, later founder of the Boy Scouts, while he commanded the Northern Territorial Army but the barracks building was demolished in 1931.
The castle was used during the First World War as the base of the Non-Combatant Corps made up of conscientious objectors – conscripts who refused to fight. It was also used to imprison some conscientious objectors who refused to accept army discipline and participate in the war in any way. These included the "Richmond Sixteen" who were taken to France from the castle, charged under Field Regulations, and then sentenced to death, but their death sentences were commuted to ten years' hard labour.
As presented today Richmond Castle has one of the finest examples of Norman buildings in Britain including Scollands Hall, the Great Hall of the castle. The keep has a restored roof and floors but is shown with the original 11th-century main gate arch unblocked. This arch is now in the basement of the later 12th century keep which was built in front of it, the main gate then being moved to its present position which was dominated by the adjacent keep while the original arch we see today was filled-in to secure the keep.
The castle is a Scheduled Monument, a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change.It is also a Grade I listed building and therefore recognised as an internationally important structure. Today the castle is in the care of English Heritage which publishes a guidebook written by John Goodall PhD FSA. English Heritage provides a visitor centre for the castle with an informative exhibition containing artefacts form the castles history, they also hold regular events there throughout the year.
According to legend, King Arthur and his knights are sleeping in a cave underneath the castle. It is said that they were once discovered by a potter named Thompson, who ran away when they began to awake. Another legend tells that a drummer boy
A stage in the evolution of Dan Holdsworth’s GPS and computer generated Alpine glaciers, titled 'Acceleration Structures'.
CAMERON NC: This modest structure was Cameron’s town jail many years ago. Chances are, this was a if not the prototype for Andy Griffith’s jail in his fictional North Carolina town of Mayberry.
I was told [and I do believe everything I’m told] that those locked up in Cameron were free to go home for lunch and dinner just as the scofflaws of Andy’s Mayberry. Truth be told, I believe most of the overnight guests were locked up merely to give them and the town a safe place to sleep off too much moonshine consumption.
Just after we moved into this area about 20 years ago I enjoyed many hours roaming the back country roads looking for anything that piqued my curiosity. On one excursion I spotted this building off in the woods on a back road in Cameron. Half-hidden by creeping weeds it was in very poor condition and appeared to be close to complete disrepair.
To the rescue, the good citizens of Cameron borrowed Arthel’s flatbed truck [Arthel, too], a couple of tractors from Jarrod and Lester, along with many strong backs and relocated the jail to away not more than two blocks away to a new spot behind the old Muse Bros Store.
The final touches were left to the ladies: they changed the sheets on the old rusty bed, added a small vase of not-too-old plastic flowers, and replaced the cracked chamber pot with an almost new one donated by the Salvation Army store up in Vass.
Voilà !
All done. Cameron got a new but splintery tourist attraction.
So, if you are ever down in Cameron and you need a place to sleep for a night just climb the steps of the Muse Bros Store and ask Martha for the key.
Media Museum of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Mediapark Hilversum - Neuteling Riedijk Architects.
The building consists of five levels below street level and five levels above street level. In the underground, the national archives of Dutch radio and television recordings are stacked around a deep canyon. Above ground, a staged volume contains the media museum. The third element is the office building of the institute. The three volumes together enclose a large public atrium.
Overwhelmed by the huge structure of the Refa'i Mosque and the tiny details of the decorations on its exterior walls, and by the large marble columns that are a part of the entrance portal. The designers and builders of this grand mosque paid considerable attention to every single detail of its ornamentation
Taken @Cairo, Egypt
Lago Hermoso - Siete Lagos - San Martin de los Andes - Neuquen - Patagonia - Argentina
One of the most beautiful lakes ever
The bridge in Etobicoke near Humber Bay Park East.
The sun was setting giving the side of it a nice, orange glow.
I explore the Wilhelma in every season!
And every time, there is much to marvel at. Above all, the magnificent and diverse plant species fascinate me deeply.
This visit took place in the spring of 2026.
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