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243:, but was demolished after the Fair, having carried 4.5 million passengers. The Sky Ride had a 1,850-foot (560 m) span and two 628-foot (191 m) tall towers, making it the most prominent structure at the fair. Suspended from the span, 215 feet (66 m) above the ground, were rocket-shaped cars, each carrying 36 passengers.
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They are higher than any building in
Chicago, these two strong steel towers, imbedded in cement. Six hundred and twenty-eight feet they rise into the skies, with observation floors atop them. On a 200-foot (61 m) level the rocket cars offer you a beautiful and, mayhap, thrilling ride across the
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The ride had a capacity of 5,000 people per hour. It was reported that the attraction had 2,616,389 riders in 1933 and a total of about 4.5 million during the course of the fair. At the time of construction the span between towers was one of the longest in the world, allegedly exceeded in span only
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Two towers stand like giant sentinels, 1,850 feet (560 m) apart, seeming to guard the Hall of
Science on the Mainland, and the Hall of Social Science across the Lagoon—support of the spectacular Sky-Ride, great thrill feature of A Century of Progress. Back in 1893, it was the monster Ferris
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Wheel that everybody talked about, and everybody rode. Today, striking example of the progress of science even in thrill makers, is this suspension bridge principle applied to an entertainment feature—and perhaps the near solution of some problems of overhead transportation.
282:, was called the Tower of Water and Light—a 250-foot-tall tower with water flowing down the outside and elevators traveling to observation platforms. When the Montgomery Ward company backed out of its offer to finance the tower, the commission considered the Sky Ride.
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The Sky Ride, an idea suggested by an engineer named
William L. Hamilton, would span the grounds and be relatively cheap to build. The ride was built in the span of six months prior to the fair's opening, by a consortium of five companies:
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intended to resemble a "tail" or rocket exhaust, as it traveled across the wires. At night, lights were focused on the cars as they traveled between the towers, and lights were also attached to the bottom of the elevators.
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supplied the 12 coin-operated telescopes on the tower observation decks. If they chose to take a trip across, they rode in one of 12 double-decked "rocket cars" carried across from one tower to the other. Each car emitted
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with a raisable through truss span in 1930. Thus, the count of transporter bridges existing at a given time in the US never exceeded 1, and after
November 1934, stands at zero again.
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with a 30-person capacity. Fair goers could take a trip across from one tower to the other at the 200-foot (61 m) level, or take the elevator farther up to the
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charges to melt ten-foot sections near the bottom of two of the legs. When the thermite was fired, the two legs collapsed and the tower fell on its side.
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in 1905, and the Sky Ride. Due to capacity constraints, the Duluth bridge was converted from a transporter bridge to a more conventional
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The Sky Ride consisted of two towers, each 628 feet (191 m) high, spaced 1,850 feet (560 m) apart. Each tower had four
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Ratigan, William (1959) Highways Over Broad Waters, Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company; pp. 224–227. ASIN B0007IY0OC
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The Sky Ride was demolished at the conclusion of the fair. The west tower was brought down using 120 pounds of
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Closeup of inland tower, showing 200 ft landing and observation deck at top. A "rocket car" is visible at right
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Kretschmer, Winfried
Geschichte der Weltausstellungen (1st edition), Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt (Germany),
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that ferried people across the lagoon, Burnham Harbor, in the center of the fair. It was located near
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is more common in Europe. In the United States, only two transporter bridges were ever built: the
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committee sought an exciting signature attraction, one that would be remembered like the
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694:(in French) with some very clear pictures of the cars, cabling, towers and other details
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This article is about the
Chicago World's Fair transporter bridge. For other uses, see
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many facts and figures taken from this source (but corroborated at other sources)
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The following brochure text gives a feel for the dramatic prose of the day.
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329:. The east tower was toppled on August 29, 1935, using 1,500 pounds of
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Fair
Management: The Story of A Century of Progress Exposition
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at the top of the tower. There were two decks per tower and
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707:
Image File: A Journal from the Curt Teich
Postcard Archives
278:. One proposal under consideration, to be underwritten by
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Die Welt der
Schwebefähren (The World of Aerial Ferries)
603:, Published by A Century Of Progress, Sourced from this
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BridgePix.com blog entry showing colored postcard view
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1,850 ft (560 m) (some sources say 2000 ft)
700:"The Chicago Century of Progress Sky-Ride 1932-1935"
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3200 ft (975 m) including 2 600 ft (182 m) backstays
607:page. With the demise of Geocities, reference the
318:. It was reported that it contained 2,000 tons of
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649:. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
678:Transporter bridge information, see also the
314:, and the towers were higher than any of the
559:"Skyride Tower Felled by Melting Steel Legs"
485:
483:
720:"Aerial ferries, the bridges of the future"
713:(1). Wauconda, IL: Lake County Museum: 3–6.
504:"Engineers Topple Skyride Inches from Mark"
574:(5). Chicago: Popular Mechanics Co.: 657.
519:(2). Chicago: Popular Mechanics Co.: 167.
235:) designed by the bridge engineering firm
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163:190 ft (58 m) above fairgrounds
758:Bridge Engineering: a global perspective
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335:
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82:fairgoers in suspended 36 passenger cars
764:. London: Thomas Telford. p. 740.
754:
556:
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112:Century of Progress Exhibition Sky-Ride
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827:School of the Art Institute of Chicago
813:taken by Harry Koss; October 30, 1933.
340:Panorama, showing Sky Ride to the left
873:Moveable bridges in the United States
807:taken by Harry Koss; August 22, 1933.
601:Official Guide Book Of The Fair, 1933
755:Troyano, Leonardo Fernández (2003).
557:Windsor, H. H. Jr. (November 1935).
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153:628 ft (191 m) high towers
93:exhibition grounds, downtown Chicago
300:Mississippi Valley Structural Steel
288:Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company
13:
883:1934 disestablishments in Illinois
868:Steel bridges in the United States
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502:Windsor, H. H. Jr. (August 1935).
260:The Century of Progress Exposition
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631:[Ferries of Yesterdsay].
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464:. Chicago: Cuneo Press. pp.
599:Brochure text is taken from the
306:at a cost of about $ 1 million.
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878:1933 establishments in Illinois
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666:Skyride information (in German)
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1:
703:(Google books (snippet view))
688:Century of Progress materials
643:Chicago's great world's fairs
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227:(with a design similar to an
811:Library of congress panorama
805:Library of congress panorama
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7:
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23:Bridge in Chicago, Illinois
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735:(5): 666–669 and 130A-131A
698:Havlik, Robert J. (1992).
676:niederelb.de international
640:Findling, John E. (1994).
458:Lohr, Lenox Riley (1952).
246:
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843:Bridges completed in 1933
718:Magee, H. W. (May 1933).
692:www.worldfairs.info forum
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276:1893 Chicago World's Fair
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312:George Washington Bridge
686:Chicago Public Library
629:"Schwebefähren Gestern"
268:1889 Paris World's Fair
237:Robinson & Steinman
63:41.860916°N 87.611525°W
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316:skyscrapers in Chicago
296:John Roebling and Sons
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786:, 1999; pp. 192.
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68:41.860916; -87.611525
392:vertical lift bridge
863:Century of Progress
858:Transporter bridges
209:Century of Progress
91:Century of Progress
59: /
853:History of Chicago
848:Bridges in Chicago
819:from niederelbe.de
680:Transporter bridge
440:Transporter bridge
384:Aerial Lift Bridge
380:transporter bridge
355:
342:
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225:transporter bridge
126:Transporter Bridge
771:978-0-7277-3215-6
728:Popular Mechanics
656:978-0-7190-3630-9
627:Bölsche, Jochen.
567:Popular Mechanics
512:Popular Mechanics
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388:Duluth, Minnesota
363:observation decks
353:Sky Ride postcard
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176:February 2, 1933
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159:Clearance below
149:Clearance above
117:Characteristics
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435:Aerial tramway
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823:Image Search
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739:November 13,
737:. Retrieved
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635:(in German).
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612:Aug 13, 2001
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583:. Retrieved
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472:November 15,
470:. Retrieved
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292:Inland Steel
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272:Ferris wheel
264:Eiffel Tower
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233:gondola lift
213:World's Fair
200:
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140:Longest span
132:Total length
825:from SAIC (
223:. It was a
66: /
41:Coordinates
837:Categories
621:References
205:attraction
104:, Illinois
54:87°36′41″W
51:41°51′39″N
605:Geocities
580:0032-4558
547:, p. 150.
525:0032-4558
359:elevators
266:from the
682:article.
614:version.
492:, p. 67.
424:See also
398:Brochure
331:thermite
327:dynamite
221:Illinois
201:Sky Ride
189:Location
415:lagoon.
310:by the
274:of the
270:or the
247:History
217:Chicago
203:was an
168:History
102:Chicago
87:Crosses
79:Carries
18:Skyride
782:
768:
653:
578:
523:
345:Design
211:1933
181:Closed
173:Opened
122:Design
98:Locale
446:Notes
372:steam
320:steel
780:ISBN
766:ISBN
741:2009
651:ISBN
587:2011
576:ISSN
532:2011
521:ISSN
474:2009
468:–173
378:The
302:and
199:The
466:172
386:in
231:or
215:in
839::
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482:^
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659:.
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20:.
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