Ferris Wheel Proposed With Big Mixed-Use Plans Near Downtown Pittsburgh

Mark Belko reports: "Developer Millcraft Investments is planning a giant Navy Pier-like Ferris wheel with LED lighting as a first-day attraction as part of a 13-acre mixed use project on the North Shore riverfront that also would include offices, housing, and destination retail."

The Ferris wheel would take on extra meaning in Pittsburgh: George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., the inventor of the ride, "lived on the city’s North Side and died at Mercy Hospital in 1896."

The proposed Ferris wheel in Pittsburgh would model itself on the precedent set at Chicago's Navy Pier, and like examples in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Pittsburgh's Ferris wheel would be fully enclosed and climate controlled to operate year round.

As for the larger development surrounding the Ferris wheel, the article includes more details about the possible retail and cultural tenants that could locate at the new development. The plan will require special district plan approval.