|
By Lookout Staff May 30, 2008 -- The big new $1.5 million Pacific Wheel
was the shining star Thursday night as it took its first public
spin during a festive bash on the Santa Monica Pier.
Partygoers who flocked to the two-acre seaside park were treated to a dynamic,
eye-popping computer-generated display, as the state-of-the-art Ferris wheel
filled the night sky with the glow from 160,000 energy-efficient LED lights.
A fireworks display helped usher in a new era and capped a month
of work that saw crews dismantle the old wheel and begin unpacking and installing
its replacement, which was manufactured by Chance Morgan Rides Manufacturing
Inc. in Wichita, Kansas.
Fireworks light up the sky during the lighting ceremony of the
new Pacific Park Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier May 28, 2008.
(REUTERS/Stefano Paltera)
Dan Light, customer service representative from Chance Rides Manufacturing,
Inc., works on dismantling the Pacific Wheel on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. (Photos
by FabianLewkowicz.com)
The old 90-foot tall, 122,000-pound wheel -- which appeared in more than 105
photo shoots, 71 television commercials, 69 television shows, 28 feature films
and 13 music videos -- was shipped to Oklahoma, after a real estate developer
in the Sooner state picked it up on eBay for $132,400.
In its 12 years, the giant wheel – which featured 20 gondolas with a
maximum six riders per car -- provided more than 3 million rides, Pacific park
officials said. The new wheel has comparable rider capacity and mechanical specifications,
park they said.
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, LA’s only admission free amusement
park, offers 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.
Dan Light (L), customer service representative form Chance Rides Manufacturing,
Inc., Jim Quaintance (C), Maintenance Manager of Pacific Park and Jeff Sicat
(R), Pacific Park Maintenance Supervisor, unload the new Ferris Wheel from a
semi-truck on Monday, May 5, 2008. (Photos by FabianLewkowicz.com)
Pacific Park’s maintenance team installs the Pacific Wheel’s new
axle and hub on Friday, May 16, 2008. (Photos by FabianLewkowicz.com)
Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel Gondolas stacked neatly in a row awaiting installation
on the all-new Ferris wheel assembled in the background on Tuesday, May 20.
(Photos by FabianLewkowicz.com)
Dana Wyatt, Director of Operations & Security at Pacific Park goes up on
the boom lift to the center of the wheel to connect the lighting control box
on Sunday, May 25, 2008. (Photos by FabianLewkowicz.com)
California first lady Maria Shriver, right, accompanied by her son Christopher
Shriver Schwarzenegger, 10, second from right, and his friends, enjoy their
first ride on the new Pacific Park Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier in
California Wednesday, May 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera)
|
