Observation (Ferris) wheel with the greatest capacity
- Who
- Walter Bassett
- Where
- United Kingdom (Earls Court,)
- When
- 1895
The observation wheel constructed by British naval officer Walter B Bassett (1863-1907) for the Oriental Exhibition, Earls Court, London in 1895, could carry 1,200 passengers to a maximum height of 84 m (276 ft). It had ten first-class and 30 second-class cars each carrying 30 people, but was scrapped in 1906.
In 1896 he constructed a 65m 214ft high wheel for The Winter Gardens, Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Designed to rival the 157m 518ft Blackpool Tower, which opened to the public on 14 May 1894, this 400ton wheel, with a capacity of 900 passengers, was eventually scrapped in October 1928.
Bassett constructed his third wheel 'Giant Wheel' in 1897 in Vienna, Austria. Built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph's ascensiion to the throne, this 68.8m 226ft high wheel was able to carry upto 600 passengers. A fire in 1945 destroyed some of the passenger gondolas. This Giant wheel still operates today, but uses only 15 of the original 30 passenger gondolas and is the only surviving Bassett Giant Wheel.
In 1898, Bassett constructed La Grand Roue for the Paris Exposition of 1900. This was his largest Giant Wheel and reached a height of 100m 328ft. Located on Avenue de Suffern near the 300m 984ft Eiffel Tower (which itself was built for the earlier 1889 Paris Expo), this Giant Wheel was pulled down in 1920. Many of the passenger gondolas were utilized as temporary homes for some of the WW1 homeless.
Like George Ferris before him, he died almost penniless on 27 May 1907.
Bassett constructed his third wheel 'Giant Wheel' in 1897 in Vienna, Austria. Built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph's ascensiion to the throne, this 68.8m 226ft high wheel was able to carry upto 600 passengers. A fire in 1945 destroyed some of the passenger gondolas. This Giant wheel still operates today, but uses only 15 of the original 30 passenger gondolas and is the only surviving Bassett Giant Wheel.
In 1898, Bassett constructed La Grand Roue for the Paris Exposition of 1900. This was his largest Giant Wheel and reached a height of 100m 328ft. Located on Avenue de Suffern near the 300m 984ft Eiffel Tower (which itself was built for the earlier 1889 Paris Expo), this Giant Wheel was pulled down in 1920. Many of the passenger gondolas were utilized as temporary homes for some of the WW1 homeless.
Like George Ferris before him, he died almost penniless on 27 May 1907.