Two young gentlemen are dressed in style to ride the Crank Wheel at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition in 1892.

The Crank Wheel, powered by human muscle, is a precursor to George Washington Gale Ferris Junior’s Ferris Wheel, which made its spectacular debut at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The Ferris Wheel was America’s competitive answer to the Eiffel Tower, which wowed the world as the grand entrance to the Paris World Fair in 1889.

Date: 1892

Origin: City of Toronto Archives

Collection Number: C16-FPA49652-I1