Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-03-09
OUR WORLDS FAIR LETTER

Nre'ng the Fair from q Reyolvina
Wheel $50 Feet In Diameter Me,hyd.
lists Apply fur More Spsc~ at M
w"r'd's Fair-Qne%n v.csaria will
L"s" Windsor Castle Tapestries d
Ch'csg"- Programme VI The Congress
IT MlssiUns-E,c.
Special Correspondence Of the T1xrs,I
CHICAGO, March 8, 1891.
Two hundred men are now EN-.
Moyed on the foundations that are "a
upp"rt the 1890 tons weight of the
Ferris wheel, one OF tho Worlds Fair
attractions in Midway Plaisance.
Imagine . wheel ESQ feet in diameter
and around it, suspended brtween the
two crowns, thirty SIX passenger cars,
each larger shan an ordinary passenger
coach. and with seating capacity OF
sixty persons each. Imagine this
great wheel, with its living freight,
amounting to total Of 2l6O persons,
slowly revolving. Imagine the sen
sa'ion Of being carried up $50 feet on
ono side and being lowered on thu
other. and Of gaining during the trip
complete view Of the grounds aud
of large portion OF Lake Michigan
to boot. That IL the idea Of the
Ferris wheel in . rutshel'.
| Th~ entire structur~ is Of steel, and
som. what resi- mbles . huge bicycle
wheel revolving between two towers
The wheel practically consists IT two
whe~ls o" the same axle, distance Of
twe"ty>eighs and one half feet apart,
and held together by bars of steel.
Between tho two wheels, and sus.
pended from steel trunnion pins, are
the thirty>six passenger oars. These
cars arc constructed of wood and steel,
upholstered, and have = weight Of
nineteen tons each. The cars are 90 |
fastened to the wheel at whatever
height it remsins in horizontal posi-
tioh. In groups on the rods around
the crown of the wheel will be Or.
ranged 5000 incandescent lights, with
globes OF various colors. These will
be alternately extinvuished and re.
lighted at night as the wheel revolves,
thus producing spectacle calculated
to excite envy in the mind OF pyro-
tech"ic. The platforms are located
on both sides OF the lower part Of the
wheel, ard six cars can be loaded and
unloaded at on,e. The time required
for one complete trip will be 20 min
utes, and this will give the passengers
two complete revolutions of the wheel.
The total expenditure involved i"
the construction and erection of the
wheel will reach 100000. The in
vento: Is G. W. 6. Ferris, an en-
gireer and bridge builder of Pi,,sburg.
Representatives of tbs Methods,
church called on Director Gene raj
Davis yesterday and asked for an in.
creased allotment of space. They
were chsperoned by Solomon That's
cher, and were from Cincinnati, Chi.
cago and the far South. They called
on the Director General in the in.
teress of an exhibit for Southern
colleges. They wanted 1900 feet of
space for the Methodist schools in
South Carolina. Georgia and Ten
nessee. Col. DAVIS could afford the
delegation but little comfort. He
merely said that in case space was
vacated by other applicants it would
be given for the cause presented by
the delegation.
Queen Victoria's 6rst cablegrsm in
relation to the FAIR was received by
President Higainbotham yesterday, in
which she cordially approves the loan
Of the tapestries in Windsor castle.
The message was signed by the
Queens private secretary, and the
historic tapestries referred to belong
to the Queen herself. These hang.
inos will he shnwn in %ha Won,an,s
Building.
Exhibits for the illinois women
continue to arrive in large numbers.
and Mrs. Hinde, who tas the custody
of them at headquar,ers, 10 nearly
overrun with the accumulated receipts.
Tho sketches show some of the best
designs in art and decorative exhibits.