The Federal Aviation Administration has received a proposal to build a 900-foot-tall Ferris Wheel in San Antonio, Texas. The mysterious request was made in October to conduct a study to build the massive structure, News4sa reported this week.
If approved, it could be the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, surpassing the Dubai Eye, which is still under construction. The property is owned by CPS Energy and is located just south of the Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio, but the developer is still unknown, according to the agency's website.
The FAA said in an email to Newsweek that the only information officials have is on the website and the agency "is limited solely to whether a proposed structure would pose a hazard to the use of the airspace."
"The first reaction is like, wow. That's taller than the tower, however, it's hard to say whether or not these things are real. I can tell you that you have to go through the FAA. You have to apply for what's it's called a navigation easement if you're going to go up a certain height. But whether someone is going to come in and build a 900-foot Ferris wheel, I don't know," Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff told News 4 San Antonio.
Despite the fun of having a Ferris wheel in town, the ride could be dangerous if it's not properly taken care of. Three women and a child were severely injured after they fell 30-feet from a Ferris wheel at a carnival in Port Townsend, Washington in May. Police said the ride made a grinding sound and something appeared to fall out. The cart slowly tipped over and dumped the passengers. The Phoenix Wheels Ferris wheel had no seatbelts, but the attorney for Funtastic Rides Company's Ferris Wheel said the riders were standing while the ride was in motion, KIRO7 News reported.
Ferris wheels are also problematic outside of the U.S. Recently, government officials in Paris, France, voted to remove the Grande Roue, the largest Ferris wheel in France. The ride has remained on the Place de la Concorde near the Louvre museum since 1993. Many felt the removal of the wheel would help protect the area's "historic visual appearance."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Maria Perez is a breaking news reporter for Newsweek. She has an M.A in Urban Reporting from the CUNY Graduate School ... Read more
