At 141 feet high, with a 240-person capacity, the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel with its red gondolas, operated for nearly 20 years before being replaced by the New Chicago Wheel.
The new wheel, also referred to as the 2016 Centennial Wheel, because it was part of the Navy Pier centennial celebrations is now 200 feet tall. It now has 40 blue gondolas, each able to hold 8 adults and 2 children. In total, it can carry a maximum of 414 passengers.
The first Ferris wheel was invented and built in Chicago, known worldwide simply as, you guessed it, The Chicago Wheel.
As part of the 1893 World's Fair, a gigantic "round the world" or "Ferris Wheel" was inaugurated, named after George Ferris Jr., the engineer who built it.
At 264 feet tall, (250-foot diameter), the "Great Wheel" as it was also called, was able to hold 2,160 people. It had 36 "early version" wooden gondolas that could hold 60 people each.
For more information, cool photos and a history of the Chicago Wheel:
