A 150-Foot Ferris Wheel is Coming to Golden Gate Park in 2020
An illuminated 150-foot observation wheel is among the attractions being planned for Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020. The wheel will provide riders with sweeping views from the ocean to downtown San Francisco and is roughly as tall as the de Young Museum’s observation deck.
The observation wheel will launch on April 4th, 2020 and operate through March 1st, 2021. It is planned for Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, the outdoor plaza near the de Young Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Japanese Tea Garden. The wheel features 36 fully enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas that each seat six passengers.
SF’s Brand New 150-Foot Observation Wheel
Part of Golden Gate Park’s 150th Anniversary
April 4, 2020 to March 1, 2021
Music Concourse btwn de Young and Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, SF
Adults $18, kids (Under 13) and Seniors are $12Rides will be free during the April 4, 2020 parkwide celebration.
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission is expected to approve an agreement between the Recreation and Park Department and the attraction’s operator, SkyStar Wheel, LLC. This will be the first time an observation wheel of this scale has operated in San Francisco since Golden Gate Park hosted the Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, where the Firth Wheel was a major attraction, standing at 120 feet and carrying ten people per carriage.
The celebration of “Everybody’s Park” is being organized by the Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance. The anniversary events will bring together more than 150 cultural institutions and community groups to pay tribute to Golden Gate Park.
“This celebration will bring San Francisco communities together to be a part of an amazing tribute to Golden Gate Park and celebrate the many attractions within its 1,017 acres that are available to everybody young and old,” said Drew Becher, CEO of San Francisco Parks Alliance.
The yearlong celebration will include major events and attractions, including a free park-wide community celebration on April 4th—exactly 150 years after the California Legislature created Golden Gate Park. The celebration will bring together thousands of San Franciscans and visitors to experience Everybody’s Park and all that it has to offer for people of all ages and interests.
The wheel is roughly as tall as the de Young Museum’s observation deck. The 12-minute ride will be $18, or $12 for seniors and children under 13. Rides will be free during the April 4th parkwide celebration. It was previously installed in Louisville, Kentucky’s Waterfront Park; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Norfolk, Virginia.
A Golden Gate Park 150 website has been created at www.goldengatepark150.com that provides a guide to the special events, programming, exhibitions, history, amazing stories and the many things to do in the park. Information about the observation wheel in the Music Concourse, along with other events, will be announced in January as part of an official launch event.
In 1870, an act of the State Legislature created the boundaries of Golden Gate Park in western San Francisco. Skeptics said that that park could never be built, but a determined engineer teamed up with a skilled horticulturalist to make the sand dunes bloom, displaying the creativity and can-do spirit that has always been a part of San Francisco. Since that time, it has stood with a growing city as a haven from urban life and a place where San Franciscans have always come together. Today, Golden Gate Park’s 1,017 acres boast 24 million visits each year by those who come from across the city, the nation, and the world to visit its historic institutions, attend concerts, participate in races, and enjoy activities from soccer and lawn bowling to hiking and fly-casting.
