The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America Part III, Chapter 6 Summary

One Good Turn

  • Back at the fair, Ferris' wheel stands tall, but it's without its thirty-six passenger carriages.
  • The wheel is about to be tested for its first full rotation. Everyone is anxious.
  • The wheel is set in motion, but suddenly a "growl tore through the sky" and everyone at the fair stops and stares at the wheel.
  • Oops, looks like one engineer's just testing the brakes. All good here, folks.
  • The wheel takes twenty minutes for a single revolution, and it's a success.
  • Great: all they have to do now is test it with actual people inside.