An observation wheel (or Ferris wheel) is a non-building structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached to the rim.
The original "Ferris wheel" was designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The name later came to be used generically for all such rides.
Some operators prefer the term observation wheel to Ferris wheel and large Ferris wheels are sometimes marketed as observation wheels, to differentiate them from smaller Ferris wheels; however, the two are actually the same and any distinction between the two names is at the discretion of the wheel operator.
