Santa Monica Pier's New Ferris Wheel - Santa Monica, CA - Ferris Wheels on Waymarking.com

The Pacific Wheel, erected in 1996, and originally costing $800,000, was the world’s first and only solar powered ferris wheel . Jeff Klocke, director of marketing and sales at Pacific Park, has been quoted as saying, “Forever in the celebrity spotlight, the Pacific Wheel has a very impressive list of credits with appearances in more than 105 photo shoots, 71 television commercials, 69 television shows, 28 feature films and 13 music videos."

In April 2008 the ferris wheel was put up for auction on Ebay. It came with 20 gondolas and was outlined with 5,392 light bulbs, but it didn’t come with a supporting base. The manufacturer said it would toss one of those in for an additional $135,000. The minimum auction price was $50,000 with Pacific Park donating half of the winning bid to Special Olympics Southern California.

The winning bid was made by Oklahoma City real-estate developer Grant Humphreys for $132,400. In time, Humphreys plans to incorporate the wheel into a mixed use residential community.

During May 2008, the Pacific Wheel was dismantled and shipped out to make way for the new wheel, a $1.5 million dollar investment for the city, manufactured by Chance Morgan Rides. It made its debut just in time for Santa Monica’s Memorial Day weekend festivities and the long California summer ahead. Its use of 160,000 LED lights is supposed to cut costs and energy consumption for the park, while a solar application generates up to 71,000 kilowatt hours of photovoltaic power. In addition to high
energy savings, the illumination system will display dynamic, eye-popping computer generated lighting
entertainment in the evenings. Depending on the season, the lights are capable of illuminating a
Valentine's heart, Fourth of July American flag, or a Christmas wreath.

All of this history was unbeknownst to myself and my sons when we purchased our ‘tickets to ride’ on the afternoon of June 12th, 2008. We wanted to experience the ferris wheel so that when we saw it on TV or in a movie, we could nudge the person next to us and say, “I’ve been there!”

Pacific Park, specifically located at34°00'30?N 118°29'53?W, on the Santa Monica Pier, is LA's only admission-free amusement park, offering 12 amusement rides, 21 midway games and an oceanfront food plaza. For information and hours of operation, call (310) 260-8744 or visit pacpark.com.

Visit Instructions:
Please take at least 1 picture of your Ferris Wheel.

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