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Ferris Wheel Soon Will Offer Bird’s-Eye View Of Downtown St. Louis

The St. Louis Wheel at Union Station stands 200-feet-tall. The new attraction in downtown St. Louis will be open year-round.
David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
The St. Louis Wheel at Union Station stands 200 feet tall. The new attraction in downtown St. Louis will be open year-round.

A new attraction in downtown St. Louis will open to the public in less than a week — the St. Louis Wheel.

The 200-foot-tall observation wheel at Union Station is part of a multimillion-dollar entertainment complex, which will include an aquarium, mini golf course and soda fountain. 

Attendants help riders board the St. Louis Wheel during a media preview event on Sept. 24, 2019. The attraction opens to the public September 20.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Attendants help riders board the St. Louis Wheel during a media preview event on Tuesday afternoon. The attraction opens to the public Sept. 30.

Speaking at a preview event Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Lyda Krewson called the project a “major investment” in the city of St. Louis.

“I consider it really a very iconic wheel which overlooks our area and which really sets in place the momentum that we have in the city of St. Louis,” Krewson said.

Mayor Lyda Krewson offered brief remarks before riding the St. Louis Wheel on September 24, 2019.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Mayor Lyda Krewson offered brief remarks before riding the St. Louis Wheel on Tuesday afternoon.

The St. Louis Wheel has 42 climate-controlled gondolas that can hold up to eight riders each. The glass-enclosed gondolas offer a 360-degree view of the city.

The observation wheel will be open year-round beginning Monday.

The glass-enclosed gondolas of the St. Louis Wheel will allow the attraction to remain open year-round.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
The glass-enclosed gondolas of the St. Louis Wheel will allow the attraction to remain open year-round.

The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is currently under construction. The 120,000-square-foot aquarium — which is set to open in December — will be located in the station’s former mall area. 

Maryland-based entertainment company ICON Attractions — which also runs the Capital Wheel at National Harbor outside Washington, D.C. — will operate the St. Louis Wheel.

A view from the top of the St. Louis Wheel, taken on September 24, 2019.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
A view from the top of the St. Louis Wheel.

Eli Stovall of ICON Attractions said the project is the “culmination of countless hours and planning and hard work.”

“We hope it will become part of the personal and citywide celebrations here in St. Louis,” Stovall said. “When the St. Louis Wheel opens, we get to share just how fabulous this city on the banks of the Mississippi River looks from 200 feet in the air.” 

Follow Shahla on Twitter: @shahlafarzan

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org

Shahla Farzan is a PhD ecologist and science podcast editor at American Public Media. She was previously a reporter at St. Louis Public Radio.