The Capital Wheel is a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

National Harbor National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront deve ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, just outside Washington, D. C., in the United States. It opened on May 23, 2014. Capital Wheel by Day (15003014884)

The wheel was conceived by National Harbor developer Milton Peterson and inspired by the

Roue de Paris The Roue de Paris is a tall transportable Ferris wheel, originally installed on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, for the 2000 millennium celebrations. It left Paris in 2002 and has since then seen service at numerous other locations ...

. Thomas Heath and Jonathan O'Connell
"Is Monumental Washington Area Ready for the Capital Wheel at National Harbor?"
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WashingtonPost.com ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014. Built by

Chance Rides Chance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. The company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are located in Wi ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, it has an overall height of and sits on a pier extending into the adjacent

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, easily visible to passengers on flights to or from

National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

. Landmarks visible from inside the wheel include the National Harbor, the Washington Monument, the city of Alexandria, and Georgetown University. The diameter wheel carries 42 climate-controlled passenger gondolas, each able to seat eight people, including a VIP gondola that can be rented for weddings or celebrations. The wheel has programmable special-effects lighting and seasonal concessions at the base of the ride from the

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname ...

restaurant chain. The entire structure is 175 (52.6 m) feet tall."National Harbor's Capital Wheel Arrives in Prince George's County"
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''. 18 Feb 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.

Design and construction

The Capital Wheel arrived at National Harbor by two of Cianbro's barges on February 18, 2014, pushed by a tugboat from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

to National Harbor via the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

and

. Smith's Shipyard provided the 1,300 horsepower tug, named The Rising Sun and measuring 60 feet long by 22 feet wide (18.3m by 6.7m). Flexifloat made the two barges that Cianbro used to transport The Capital Wheel, one for the materials, measuring wide by long by deep, and one for the crane that lifted the components from the barge to the pier, measuring wide by long by deep. Cianbro's Manitowoc 4100 Series 2 crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 460,000 pounds. The materials barge carried of galvanized steel base and tower legs and other miscellaneous components weighing for The Capital Wheel."The Capital Wheel"
Retrieved 28 July 2014. The Capital Wheel weighs approximately 320 tons (281,227 kg), exclusive of the base, which weighs an additional 140 tons (127,006 kg). The structure's eight legs support a axle, which took a full day to install. Cianbro attached the Swiss-made passenger gondolas four at a time to the wheel structure, followed by a 90-degree wheel rotation, until wheel was fully assembled."Capital Ferris Wheel En Route to National Harbor"
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CBS Washington WUSA (channel 9) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with CBS. It is the flagship property of Tegna Inc. (based in the nearby Virginia suburb of McLean). WUSA's studios and transmitter are located at Broadcast House on Wi ...

". 18 Feb. 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014. Four 50-horsepower variable drive units rotate the Wheel at a speed of 1.5 rotations per minute. Each passenger ride lasts 12–15 minutes. The Capital Wheel has 1.6 million LED lights with a spectrum of 16,387,064 colors.

Passenger gondolas

The Capital Wheel has 42 climate-controlled gondolas, including one VIP gondola, and can carry 336 passengers at maximum. CWA Construction, a Swiss manufacturer, built the passenger gondolas that Cianbro installed for The Capital Wheel. Each glass-enclosed gondola weighs , measures approximately 6 feet long by 5 feet wide by 5 feet high (1.8m by 1.5m by 1.5m) and holds eight passengers or up to . The gondolas have interior lights and two-way, individual communication with the operator, and their doors open facing the harbor, for an unobstructed view of the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and ...

U.S. Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, and

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

Ride Availability and Cost

On its regular schedule as of December 2020, the Capital Wheel is open from noon to 8 P.M. Monday through Thursday and 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. Friday through Sunday. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $13.50 for seniors, and $11.25 for children. The VIP gondola costs $50 and can seat 4 people.

References

External links

* {{Ferris wheel Ferris wheels in the United States Amusement rides introduced in 2014 Amusement rides manufactured by Chance Rides 2014 establishments in Maryland