Wonder Wheel

Wonder Wheel
Seen in 2018
Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park
Coordinates40°34′26.5″N 73°58′44.9″W / 40.574028°N 73.979139°W / 40.574028; -73.979139
StatusOperating
Opening dateMay 1920 (1920-05)[1]
DesignatedMay 23, 1989[2]
Reference no.1708
Ride statistics
Attraction typeFerris wheel
ManufacturerEccentric Ferris Wheel Company
ModelEccentric wheel
Height150 ft (46 m)
Vehicle typeGondola
Vehicles24
Riders per vehicle6

The Wonder Wheel is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.[3] The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, Luna Park to the east, and the Riegelmann Boardwalk to the south. As with other eccentric Ferris wheels, some of the Wonder Wheel's passenger cabins are not fixed directly to the rim of the wheel, but instead slide along winding sets of rails between the hub and the rim.

Built in 1920 as one of several Ferris wheels on Coney Island, the Wonder Wheel was designed by Charles Hermann and operated by Herman J. Garms Sr. and his son Fred for six decades. Despite the subsequent economic decline of Coney Island, the Wonder Wheel continued to operate each summer through the 20th century. In 1983, Herman Garms's son Fred sold the ride to the Vourderis family, who restored the attraction and continue to run the wheel as of 2023. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Wonder Wheel as an official New York City landmark in 1989, and minor modifications were subsequently made to the attraction.

  1. ^ Denson, Charles (2002). Coney Island: Lost and Found. Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 9781580084550.
  2. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1989, p. 1.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NPR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).