The Neighborhood
Amusement Park
Amusement Park
District of Lake View
painting by Armando Pedroso
Some Background
In 1890, the U.S. Congress decided that the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America should be located in Chicago, and accordingly, on April 9, the State of Illinois licensed the corporation known as the World's Columbian Exposition to prepare for this grand event. The Corporation's directors, in October, 1890, appointed the rising architect, Daniel H. Burnham, Construction Chief and delegated to him autocratic powers. Burnham, architect of the first skyscrapers, was a good bet to score a smashing success, both for the Exposition and for himself. At this early stage, he was chiefly concerned at the lack of participation by America's civil engineers. Seeking to stir them into action, he arranged to speak before the 'Saturday Afternoon Club', an informal group of architects and engineers who were interested in the Fair. Their gatherings had served as a sort of public opinion poll on many of the architectural and engineering structures of the Exposition. It was immediately proposed to build a tower 500 feet higher than Eiffel's, but since this would be playing second fiddle to Eiffel's genius, this idea was dismissed. Mere "bigness" was not what was wanted. Something novel, original, daring and unique must be designed and built if American engineers were to retain their prestige and standing.
The assemble of the axle
- 1893 Chicago Columbia Exposition
photo - Ebay
The view at the top - Man on Five
An Article by Patrick Meehan
photo - Chicago History Museum
notice the worker climbing a cable
And Then the Move to the
District of Lake View
zoomed view of above postcard
photo - Chuckman Collection


photos from 'storeyofchicago'
double fold 1906 postcard - from my collection
photo - Chuckman Collection
What the neighborhood look like during the time of
Ferris Wheel Park. Seminary Place was located west & perpendicular to the future park, west of Clark Street
During the time of the park this street was called Sherman Pl.
This 1894 Sanborn Map highlights the pre-construction site of the park - lot #2 apparently where Drummond Place is located today west of Clark Street to Wrightwood, Clark Street to what will be Lehmann Court - an alley then.
During the time of the park this street was called Sherman Pl.
This 1894 Sanborn Map highlights the pre-construction site of the park - lot #2 apparently where Drummond Place is located today west of Clark Street to Wrightwood, Clark Street to what will be Lehmann Court - an alley then.
Calumet 412 documented an amazing footage of the Ferris Wheel at Clark Street and
Wrightwood Avenue, 1896. The vantage point in this short film is looking from
the southwest corner of Wrightwood, northeast across Clark Street after having been moved from the grounds of the Colombian Exposition of 1893. This short movie filmed and directed by the Lumiere Brothers, is among
the first film ever shot in Chicago. With this link is a stand-alone view of the film.

photo via Glen Miller-Original Chicago on Facebook
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.

photos from 'storeyofchicago'
View southeast corner of Clark Street
at Diversey Avenue (Parkway)
photo - Man on Five
Streetcar on the move via Clark Street heading toward away from the car-barn (garage)
View one of the first movies filmed in America which was the
at Ferris Wheel along Clark Street at Wrightwood Avenue
I contend the building in the film is 538 W Wrightwood as show in 2016 Google view below
the 2006 Google Map view
a 1894 Sanborn Map of the location of the film projector angled to 1816 Wrightwood building to the ferris wheel. The 1816 building was construction after this map was issued and before the park was established in 1896. If you draw a straight line from the projector to the wheel this angle works.
View a vintage reel feed of the amusement park along Wrightwood & Clark

Perry Duis & donated Jackie Arreguin
Public Trans to the Park

1894 Sanborn Fire Map
This map shows the streetcar garages called carbarns
that were located along Clark Street that flank the park for easy access to the park from Chicago. The owner of the park was also the owner of the car-barns and many public transportation routes in Chicago. The car-barns were called 'Limits' indicating the end of the line
A View on Drummond Place
west of Clark Street
J.J. Sedelmaier via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
the exact date unknown
the exact date unknown
Google Map east view from Drummond Place
Brian Wolf via Forgotten Chicago on Facebook
with a cool fade-out animation by Brad Cornelius
According to a Forgotten Chicago contributor on Facebook, David Zornig, believes “just north of Wrightwood, there are still some odd shaped lots behind the old post office and the small hotel that used to be a movie theater; hence the odd driveway to the right of the hotel entrance. I believe that driveway was the lobby entrance. There's a picture of it on Cinema Treasures, but I don't recall the theater name. To the South of the current McDonald's, was the Playdium bowling alley that was there until the `70's. My grandfather sanded the lanes there. One could see from the McDonald's lot North, that there was a large enough strip of lots behind Clark St. storefronts, to accommodate something that size.” - 2012 testimony.
The Wheels' Initial Planned Location in 1894
According to the authors of Northsiders: Essays on the history and culture of the Chicago Cubs (page 17) the residents of a subdivision of Pine Grove (northern Lakeview East ) voted in 1894 against a new trolley line along Evanston Avenue (Broadway) hence ending the opportunity of the ferris wheel to be located north of Belmont Avenue (exact location unknown). Chicago Tribune in 1894 indicated that the community of “Lake View would become a great amusement park area of the city”. Ferris Wheel Park was established in 1896 in the area south of Belmont on the corner area of Clark and (Sherman) Drummond in the new District of Lake View in Chicago.
Shortly after, and with vocal citizen opposition from a newly formed civic group called the Improvement and Protection Organization (IPO) the owners of the new park had to file for bankruptcy in 1900 due to lack of local community support and general citywide patronage. The lack of support of the park was due to its location within a residential subdivision and the residents of this new annex area were not fans of the owner of the park - Mr. Yerkes who owned the Chicago Electric Street Railway - owned and operated streetcars on Evanston (Broadway) Avenue and Clark Street.
Mr. Yerkes manage to extend his Clark Street operation to the end of the line on Drummond Avenue exclusively for this amusement park, Ferris Wheel Park.
Transportation Industrialist Charles Yerkes
Mr. Yerkes owned the park and the transportation rails to his park - the end of the line from Chicago, at the time.
For years, Mr. Yerkes tried to circumvent property owners by trying through city governmental agencies to acquire property for his company without due process and succeed for a few more years with his creation until 1903-4. In other words,
Construction or re-construction photo - not sure
The 'Wheel' was sold to the City of St. Louis by 1904 for their own amusement park that also failed. As a side note, the man who owned the rights to the park, Charles Tyson Yerkes - the owner of the North West Rail Company that controlled transportation in the city at the time apparently skipped town by 1911 leaving his rail company to flounder and his dream park a distant memory. By 1906, the world famous carriage wheel was sold for scrap.
The 1895 re-assembly of the Ferris Wheel at its new location along Clark Street & Wrightwood Avenue
- Chicago History Museum
- Chicago History Museum
Another season opener 1896
(click on article to enlarge)
Troubles in the Park 1896
View from Pine Grove & Wrightwood Avenues
of the dis-assemble
photo - Living History of Illinois and Chicago-Facebook
of the dis-assemble
photo - Living History of Illinois and Chicago-Facebook
photo -
Paul Petraitis, Forgotten Chicago on Facebook
In 1902 Another Possible Relocation
The Ferris Wheel found a home
but not for long in 1906

It's new home in the City of St. Louis
photo via Shahrdad Khokamoradi via
Picture of Chicago-Faceook
It's Demise in 1906
but not for long in 1906

It's new home in the City of St. Louis
photo via Shahrdad Khokamoradi via
Picture of Chicago-Faceook
It's Demise in 1906
photo - Glen Miller, Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
2013 The City of Chicago TV produced a video of the current Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. Check it out!2015 The newer Ferris Wheel will be larger than the second one but not as large as the first. Read more with this link.
Andy Kowalczyk, contributor to Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
mentioned that “It is regularly claimed that Dunns Bridge over the Kankakee
River in Indiana was constructed from remnants of the ferris wheel” per his source Wikipedia. But according to Shahrdad Khodamoradi, a contributor to
Forgotten Chicago-Facebook, “I think the bridge made of parts of the wheel is a
myth. There are no reports of the wheel being carefully dismantled and
repurposed. All accounts say it was dynamited in Forest Park and the axle buried there, as it was too heavy to move easily or cheaply.”
Post Notes:
On the west side of Western Avenue @ Belmont was the iconic Riverview Park. Western Avenue was the western border of Old (township,city, District of) Lake View so not part of my blog but here is a good summary + vintage photos from a Forgotten Chicago on Facebook contributor, Glenn Miller. Also, a YouTube memory by WGN. Read the commentary from Forgotten Chicago on Facebook about this park.
Important Note:
These posts are exclusively used for educational purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!