The Seattle Great Wheel is a 53-meter tall giant

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 ...

at Pier 57 on Elliott Bay in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. At an overall height of , it was the tallest Ferris wheel on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

when it opened in June 2012.

Opening day

The inauguration ceremony and opening to the public took place on June 29, 2012. Participants in the ceremony, which commenced at 2:30 p.m., included the U.S. Coast Guard with a presentation of colors, Seattle mayor

Michael McGinn Michael McGinn (born December 17, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Seattle, Washington, and is a neighborhood activist and a former State Chair of the Sierra Club. In what was characterized as a "s ...

who delivered a speech, and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

cheerleaders, spirit team, and marching band who provided entertainment. Approximately 200 people lined up for the first ride on the wheel.

Construction and design

Seattle was the third city in North America to offer a wheel of this design, following the

Niagara SkyWheel Niagara SkyWheel is a tall Ferris wheel in the middle of Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Niagara SkyWheel is a Ronald Bussink Professional Rides designed R60 Giant Wheel, manufactured by Chance Rides and supplied by Chance Morg ...

at Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(which is also tall), and the larger Myrtle Beach SkyWheel in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, which stands tall. The Seattle wheel is the only one of the three to be built over water. The Seattle Great Wheel has 42 climate-controlled gondolas, each able to carry up to eight passengers (except the luxury

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

gondola, which had red leather seats and a glass floor, and seats four), giving a maximum capacity of 332. The 12-minute, three-revolution ride extends out over Elliott Bay. File:Seattle Great Wheel, Seattle, Washington, Estados Unidos, 2017-09-02, DD 16.jpg, Long exposure photo of Great Wheel lights at night File:Seattle evening pano.jpg, Seattle skyline and Great Wheel near twilight

In popular culture

* The Seattle Great Wheel was featured in the climax for the film '' Death Note''. * The Seattle Great Wheel is a prominent landmark in the 2020

action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

game ''

The Last of Us Part II ''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after ''The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable chara ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2012 establishments in Washington (state) Amusement rides introduced in 2012 Buildings and structures in Seattle Central Waterfront, Seattle Ferris wheels in the United States Tourist attractions in Seattle