Wheeler District

[hoya]

^^That's Crazy and Amazing. I need to Get a Grip. This Wheeler District is gonna be one Sweet Emotion.

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing on this thread. I want to get a house in the Wheeler District, but given the prices I've seen, I might as well Dream On.

[HOT ROD]

think it will be ready or at least built and lit up in time for the next phase of the NBA Playoffs?

[OKCisOK4me]

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing on this thread. I want to get a house in the Wheeler District, but given the prices I've seen, I might as well Dream On.

Lol, fantastic! And agreed!

[Teo9969]

think it will be ready or at least built and lit up in time for the next phase of the NBA Playoffs?

MAYBE if we make the WCF, but I doubt so. I though they were looking at July/August completion.

[ourulz2000]

MAYBE if we make the WCF, but I doubt so. I though they were looking at July/August completion.

So after Durant leaves town for good?

[UnFrSaKn]

The former Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel has found its new home in Oklahoma City | News OK

[hfry]

Great pictures and videos! ^^

[jerrywall]

Just in time for the storm of the century!

[ourulz2000]

Just in time for the storm of the century!

Actually a good point brought up. I do wonder how this thing holds up in the Oklahoma wind.

[Urbanized]

I'm sure it survived more than a few massive gusts through the years while sitting on a pier jutting into the Pacific Ocean. A direct tornado strike is probably the only thing you need worry about, but of course pretty much anything would be devastated by that, and the chances of it happening are incredibly remote, from a statistical standpoint. Just regular old run-of-the-mill Oklahoma wind gusts shouldn't be any type of problem.

[HangryHippo]

Just in time for the storm of the century!

I was thinking the same thing, lolz. Hope it stands up to the winds (and hail and tornadoes and earthquakes).

[Urbanized]

Hopefully everyone is mostly joking about these weather concerns.

[jccouger]

I've ran on the river trail quite a few times & the wind gusts can be pretty extreme. I'm 100% sure structurally it will withstand anything short of a F4 tornado, BUT actually riding in that thing might be pretty scary on about 1/2 of the days of the year here.

Disclaimer* I've always been far more terrified of Ferris wheels than I have of roller coasters or other thrill rides.

[David]

Serious question regarding the wind possibilities, if wind isn't a concern, why are they building a wind wall out of shipping crates on-site?

The Ferris wheel plaza also will include a “wind wall,” consisting of shipping containers that become a canvass for a mural by Amanda Bradway and Aaron Cooper. Hugh Meade, meanwhile, is designing a sculpture consisting of giant letters for “OKC.”

Maybe I am missing something, though.

[Bellaboo]

Serious question regarding the wind possibilities, if wind isn't a concern, why are they building a wind wall out of shipping crates on-site?



Maybe I am missing something, though.

I presumed for people. Moderate wind shouldn't hurt a ferris wheel.

[TexanOkie]

Serious question regarding the wind possibilities, if wind isn't a concern, why are they building a wind wall out of shipping crates on-site?



Maybe I am missing something, though.

I think that "wind wall" is to protect where the restaurant/snack shop seating area is, not the ferris wheel itself.

[Pete]

I think that "wind wall" is to protect where the restaurant/snack shop seating area is, not the ferris wheel itself.

Correct, and the small outdoor courtyard between the two structures.

[TexanOkie]

The latest (sorry for the small size/quality):

[UnFrSaKn]

https://twitter.com/stphntylr/status/725076312163934209

[dankrutka]

That's a very cool video.

[Urbanized]

I think that "wind wall" is to protect where the restaurant/snack shop seating area is, not the ferris wheel itself.

^^^ This. There is a huge difference between building a wall/diffuser to make picnics more comfortable in a place that will be windswept for the next few years, and being concerned about the structural viability of a steel structure mounted on a huge chunk of buried, poured-in-place, reinforced concrete. A structure that - again - survived decades of hanging on a pier over the ocean.

Tying the wind wall to structural concerns about the wheel is like suggesting that since they also have a sun shelter for picnics we should be concerned that the wheel might melt.

Everybody understands that there is a giant Ferris wheel that stands 24/7/365 at the Texas State Fairgrounds, right? And one on Navy Pier in The Windy City, jutting into Lake Michigan?

[David]

As the person who brought up the wind wall, I'm not saying I think the Oklahoma wind is going to come along and blow the wheel over into the river. I was just asking, no need to get all hyperbolic.

[Urbanized]

The idea of it blowing over has most certainly been suggested.

[Urbanized]

This (less substantial) wheel on the Jersey Shore survived despite everything around it being smashed by Hurricane Sandy (and being on much less substantial footing):

[David]

The idea of it blowing over has most certainly been suggested.

Yes, but those suggesting it did not mention the wind wall.

Multiple people are participating in this thread, and they are saying different things.