This is a glass half sphere paperweight with an iconic image of the Ferris Wheel from the Columbian Exposition of 1893. A historic day in Chicago’s history was the opening of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the New World. One of the lasting cultural contributions from the Exposition was the Ferris wheel. The wheel’s famous design came from George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., a structural engineer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He brought his idea to Daniel Burnham, the exposition’s leading architect, after Burnham requested an iconic structure that could rival the Eiffel Tower, built for the Exposition Universelle in 1889. The enormous steam-powered wheel rotated on 71-ton, 45.5 ft. long steel axle. The Bethlehem Iron Company manufactured the axle and was the largest steel axle to date. Once in operation, the wheel had 36 cars able to hold 60 people and offered fairgoers two 10-minute revolutions to a visual height of 258 ft. for 50 cents. The Ferris wheel became a symbol of the exposition, and like this clear glass paperweight, the wheel was pictured on various souvenirs for attendees to take home and commemorate their trip. After the exposition, the Ferris Wheel was disassembled and rebuilt in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The wheel operated in Lincoln Park from October 1895 until 1903. The wheel was then dismantled for a second time and transported by rail to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair. In 1906, the Ferris Wheel was destroyed by a controlled demolition and sold for scraps. Although the exposition’s original wheel was destroyed, other Ferris wheels were built at amusement parks and major landmark attractions, including the Centennial Wheel at Navy Pier.