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Look up! A 150 ft. ferris wheel will be installed in Golden Gate Park to celebrate the park’s 150th anniversary

Posted on by Sarah B.
A rendering showing the placement of the ferris wheel at the east end of Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse

SF Rec & Park shared the news today that beginning in April 2020, there will be a new landmark in the Music Concourse of Golden Gate Park – a 150 foot tall ferris wheel.

The ferris wheel is being installed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Golden Gate Park. The wheel features 36 fully enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas that each seat six passengers. It was previously installed in Louisville, Kentucky’s Waterfront Park; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Norfolk, Virginia.

The illuminated wheel will be installed at the east end of the Music Concourse in the park, which is also home to the de Young Museum, the Academy of Sciences, and the Japanese Tea Garden. The observation wheel will launch on April 4th, 2020 and operate through March 1st, 2021.

The wheel, operated by SkyStar, was previously installed in Louisville, Kentucky’s Waterfront Park; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Norfolk, Virginia. 

A photo of the illuminated SkyStar

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 Firth Wheel was later moved out to Sutro Heights.

The Firth Wheel pictured in Sutro Heights in 1896, after its tenure at the the 1894 Midwinter Exposition. Photo courtesy of OpenSFHistory / wnp4/wnp4.0262.jpg

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 4, 2020 parkwide celebration.

Find out more about Golden Gate Park’s upcoming 150th anniversary at goldengatepark150.com.

Sarah B.

A shot of the “pods” on the SkyStar that hold up to 6 passengers each.

8 Comments

  1. $18 for 12 minutes of a view basically identical to what you can see from the observation deck of the DY a block away, but instead of the museum getting that money you’re paying a carnie contractor from whereverville?

  2. Carter: Actually, access to the Observation Tower (and the main lobby of the museum) is free (spread the news!), so the de Young won’t suffer any.

    I do hope that SFR&C will get a good chunk of funding from this, though I’m not sure I like the idea in the first place.

  3. Good point Mike, that is the free part of the museum. I forgot.

    I don’t like the idea much either. I sure don’t envy the folks who want to try to stand in line for 4 hours on “free” day for 12 enforced minutes of skylarking. You can get a 100% better view at Grandview Park all day long.

  4. Nah this is better than the DY because you can just put your head on a swivel and see everything. In the DY you have to run in a big loop to see everything. Progress!

  5. Your head swivels too fast as is. Some people like to enjoy things for more than 12 minutes.

    This is temporary, if you read that. It will ‘progress’ and then go back out of town from whence it came – and belongs. If anywhere it belongs on Pier39 where the easy mark tourists are.

  7. Well it won’t. You can move to where these exist.
    Enjoy lovely Burbank.

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