U.S. Cities With Ferris Wheel Attractions

On June 21, 1893, the world's first Ferris wheel, named after its designer George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., debuted at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The largest attraction at that year's World's Fair, the 264-foot tall observation wheel was Chicago's answer to the Paris Eiffel Tower, which had been the rage at the World's Fair four years earlier.

Ferris' observation wheel operated in Chicago from 1895 to 1903. It was dismantled in 1904 and transported to St. Louis, where it spun from April to December of that year as part of that city's World's Fair.

Although the original Ferris wheel was demolished in 1906, observation wheels have been a regular fairground attraction for the past century. In recent history, however, Ferris wheels have become common fixtures on city skylines. London started the trend with its Millennium Wheel, also known as the London Eye, which was (when it was erected in 1999) the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Since then has come the High Roller observation wheel in Las Vegas and the current record holder.

Are all these modern-day Ferris wheels nostalgia for a simpler time, or merely a desire to get high above the streets for a better view of the city? No matter the reason, here are five Ferris wheels that offer amazing city views -- or, at least, provide a few moments of calm above the hectic world below.