Observation wheel ready for takeoff
Delayed SkyStar ride part of Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary party
That huge observation wheel brought to Golden Gate Park to celebrate its 150th anniversary will finally begin to turn this month — a visible symbol of how San Francisco’s beloved park is coming back to life.
The 150foot tall SkyStar Observation Wheel is scheduled to roll Oct. 21 after sitting idly in the Music Concourse since March. Intended to serve as the centerpiece of the park’s birthday celebrations, it was kept offlimits because of the coronavirus along with every other crowdpleaser in the park and the state.
Now, though, park officials are ready to move forward with the festivities, beginning with the opening of the wheel, which is equipped with 36 gondolas that can hold up to six people each and carry them nearly 15 stories over Golden Gate Park for views of the Pacific Ocean and downtown San Francisco.
“The wheel has been a symbol of hope during the pandemic,” said
Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the city’s Recreation and Park Department. “The fact that it can finally open is cause for some optimism.”
The announcement about the wheel follows the recent reopening of the de Young Museum with limited admittance and with social distancing guidelines. The California Academy of Sciences, which is across from the de Young in the Music Concourse, has announced that it will reopen to the public on Oct. 23.
Even without paid attractions, the park in many ways has flourished while the city sheltered in place. Street and road closures in and around the 1,017acre retreat has restored the park to its basic function: a popular spot for local residents.
According to Ginsburg, there has been a reported 600% increase in bicycling.
“Obviously, this was not the 150th celebration we had hoped and planned for,” Ginsburg said, “but Golden Gate Park has always been resilient.”
Also during the pandemic, the department has moved forward with 150 park improvement projects. They include a renovated dog park, a renovated Japanese tea garden and a new tennis park, which may open by the end of this year.
But the shelterinplace restrictions meant that the birthday celebration scheduled for April 4 was postponed indefinitely. The skeleton of the giant wheel perched uncertainly on a concrete pad at the northern edge of the Music Concourse.
Now?
“The wheel has been a symbol of hope. ... The fact that it can finally open is cause for some optimism.” Phil Ginsburg, Recreation and Park Department
“We want to give young children and their parents an opportunity to elevate above Golden Gate Park’s majestic canopy and to be able to get a perspective of just how divine the park really is,” Ginsburg said. “Golden Gate Park has been open the entire time in this pandemic, and it’s proven once again, as it had throughout history, the outside value of parks in times of hardship.”
Once the big wheel starts turning, it will mark the first time a giant Ferris wheel has operated in San Francisco since the World’s Fair of 1894, which featured a 120foot wheel.
Earlier this year, it took a crew of 10 workers, including an onsite seismic engineer, six days to get the SkyStar in place.
Now the crew will return to install 36 gondolas, which are stored offsite, to get it up and running.
Each gondola, outfitted with both heating and air conditioning, carries six passengers for a 12minute ride that will cost $ 18 a person, or $ 12 for seniors and children under 13 years old. Reservations are currently available through the end of December. Tickets prices will be reduced to $ 10 Oct. 2125 in honor of the opening.