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From Real Estate History

21 June

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2 Historical Event found for 21 June
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21 June 1893

World’s first Ferris Wheel opened

World’s first Ferris Wheel opened

The world’s first Ferris Wheel opened at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition. The 80.4-metre landmark became a powerful example of how major urban attractions can raise a city’s global profile and stimulate surrounding commercial development.The original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was designed and built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as the centerpiece of the Midway at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Since its construction, many other Ferris wheels have been constructed that were patterned after it. Intended as a keystone attraction similar to that of the 1889 Paris Exposition's 324-metre (1,063 ft) Eiffel Tower, the Ferris Wheel was the Columbian Exposition's tallest attraction, with a height of 80.4 metres (264 ft). The Ferris Wheel was dismantled and then rebuilt in Lincoln Park, Chicago, in 1895, and dismantled and rebuilt a third and final time for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. It was ultimately demolished in 1906. In 2007, the wheel's 45 foot, 70-ton axle was reportedly discovered buried near where it was demolished

▪️Syed Shayan Real Estate Archive

▪ Reference(s):

Urban Planning / Economic Reports
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21 June 1970

Penn Central Declared Bankrupt, Forcing Restructuring of Its Real Estate Assets

Penn Central Declared Bankrupt, Forcing Restructuring of Its Real Estate Assets

Penn Central, one of America’s major railroad companies, declared bankruptcy. Beyond its rail network, the company held extensive interests in land, terminals, hotels and railway-linked commercial properties. Its collapse triggered the restructuring, sale and redevelopment of major transport-related real estate assets across the northeastern United States.

Penn Central went bankrupt around two and a half years after the merger of the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad. At the time, it was the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history. The company operated nearly one-third of the country’s passenger trains and a substantial share of freight rail services in the northeastern United States, meaning its financial crisis also had a severe impact on the regional economy.

The bankruptcy was driven by management and business conflicts between the merged companies, redundant rail assets, the movement of industries away from the Rust Belt, and a government condition requiring Penn Central to absorb another already-bankrupt railroad into its system.

In 1976, Conrail, a government-established corporation, took control of major assets from Penn Central and other failed railway companies. Unprofitable rail lines and surplus properties were either sold or abandoned, while Conrail later developed into a profitable enterprise.

▪️Syed Shayan Real Estate Archive

▪ Reference(s):

Penn Central Transportation Company
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