All photographs by Jay Fine, Fine Images
At the beginning of October, we went to photograph the arrival of the legs of the New York Wheel, which will be the largest ferris wheel in the world when completed. Those pieces were delivered to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal but last week, the pedestals arrived directly to the Staten Island construction site by barge from Montreal. The scale of this project is quite stunning, with each leg weighing 500 tons and each pedestal at 100 tons.
On June 15th, New York Wheel CEO and visionary Rich Marin will discuss the progress of the New York Wheel, which will measure 630-feet tall when completed (that’s 80 feet higher than the High Roller in Las Vegas, currently the tallest observation wheel in the world).
The New York Wheel is a project backed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The construction and installation of the New York Wheel is through a joint venture between Dutch engineering companies Mammoet and Starneth, the firm behind the London Eye. The pedestals were made by ADF Group, a firm outside Montreal. Support components for the structure, including the legs are made by Italian engineering firm Walter Tosto at the Ortona and Chietiworkshops in Abruzzo, Italy. The design of the New York Wheel is by Perkins Eastman and S9 Architecture, whose principal Navid Maqami, is also in charge of the Empire Stores project in Dumbo. Other parts will also be made abroad – the rim of the wheel in Turkey, numerous pieces like the drive towers and capsules in the Netherlands, the drive and restraint system in the Czech Republic. A different firm Italy will make the spoke cables.
Check out some additional images in the slideshow below:
Next, check out the construction site of of the New York Wheel, see the arrival of the legs of the ferris wheel, and discover the secrets of the Verrazano Bridge.
