Historic Ferris wheel could be coming home
A group wants to acquire and restore a Ferris wheel built in 1895using steel manufactured in Phoenixville.
A movement is growing to see the world’s oldest Ferris wheel spin in the place where it was first fashioned.
For more than 100 years, the Phoenix Wheel delivered fond memories to those brave enough to take a ride. Built in 1895, this architectural gem was built using steel from the former Phoenix Iron and Steel Co. Now some residents are eager to see the wheel stand again, this time in the place where it was once forged, in an effort to create a cherished attraction for generations to come.
Barbara Cohen, president of the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, stood before the Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday night, urging its members to support the initiative.
“We want to work with you, members of borough council,” she said. “Although the sponsorship of the wheel itself falls on our shoulders, this is something that can benefit the Borough of Phoenixville economically, culturally and historically.”
Since it’s construction, the wheel stood and worked for decades at the Palace Amusements in Asbury Park, N.J. Then in 1989, the wheel was sold to an amusement park in Biloxi, Miss., where it was in operation until 1998. New Jersey developer Bill Sitar bought the wheel and brought it back, hoping to revive the Asbury Park community. Then in 2008, the Schuylkill River Heritage Center acquired the wheel and began a campaign to restore it and its 16 baskets, Cohen said.
The baskets have since been sponsored and restored thanks to Charlestown and Schuylkill townships, aswell as Phoenixville Borough, among others. Additionally, Tom Zeigler, a structural engineer from Pottstown, has done the reverse engineering needed to lay out the plan for how the wheel will be put together, since the original plans no longer exist, she said. Cos Win, a company in Pine Forge, has looked at the wheel and given a quote of approximately $360,000 for the work needed to restore the wheel. The heritage center has sofar raised$160,000 for the wheel project, most of which has paid for the wheel purchase, restoration of the baskets and the reverse engineering, she said.
Now the heritage center wants to see the wheel placed on the property adjacent to the Foundry sculpture garden as itwould be an ideal location for this piece from the past, Cohen said.
“As you can see, its height would be in synchrony with the Gay Street bridge,” she told council. “It would be over in an area that would not interfere with parking or right of way for people traversing through from Main Street to get where the property is developed.”
The wheel was slated to be placed at the entrance to the apartment complex approved by council as part of the Berwyn Property Group’s plan for the north side of French Creek in 2013. The company sold the approved project to Toll Brothers in January 2014, Cohen said.
“Toll Brothers arbitrarily took the wheel off of its development plan and thiswas approved by the borough on March 27, 2015,” Cohen said. “We don’t want this to happen again!”
She urged council’s help in making sure the developer provides space in the corner of the property for the wheel.
“If you think about Phoenixville and its history,” Cohen began, “walking down from what we hope will be the replication of the Phoenixville mural and … we’re talking about a butterfly garden, and then the Starr Longstreth house, the oldest building in Phoenixville, built in the year George Washington was born. And then you come to the historic Foundry building, the sculpture garden, the 1871 Phoenix column bridge, the Schuylkill River trail and there looking up you’ll see the 1895 Phoenix Wheel. This would be an asset for all of us.”