Great Wheel Corporation Great Wheel Corporation Great Wheel Corporation was a company engaged in the development, building, financing, and operation of Ferris wheels, which they often termed "observation wheels" or "observation platforms". Great Wheel Corporation, registered in Singapore as GWC Holdings, was a consultant for the Singapore Flyer, the world's tallest Ferris wheel since it was completed in 2008. Florian Bollen was chairman of both Great Wheel Corporation and Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd. The Singapore Flyer went into receivership in May 2013. In 2009, Great Wheel Corporation merged with World Tourist Attractions to form Great City Attractions. World Tourist Attractions went into administration
Ferris wheel riding the Great Wheel: Similar wheels also appeared in England in the 17th century, and subsequently elsewhere around the world, including India, Romania, and Siberia. A Frenchman, Antonio Manguino, introduced the idea to America in 1848, when he constructed a wooden pleasure wheel to attract visitors to his start-up fair in Walton Spring, Georgia. In 1892, William Somers installed three fifty-foot wooden wheels at Asbury Park, New Jersey; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Coney Island, New York. The following year he was granted the first U.S. patent for a "Roundabout". George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. rode on Somers' wheel in