A ferris wheel, built in the late 19th century by the Phoenix Steel Company, is coming back to Phoenixville. The wheel, which was a part of the Asbury Park boardwalk until the late 1980s, has been in disrepair since the late 90s but was recently purchased by Barbara Cohen and the Schuylkill River Heritage Center. The wheel was bought for $50,000, with half of that paid up front and the rest to be paid for over the next 18 months. According to an article in last week's Inquirer, it will cost another $100,000 to fully restore it. Even after the restoration, it will not be usable as an amusement ride, but rather will be a monument to the former steel mill. No word on where the funding will come from.
Sources:
The Phoenix
The Inquirer
Thanks to blusapphire_10 for the tip.
Sources:
The Phoenix
The Inquirer
Thanks to blusapphire_10 for the tip.
Comments
NOT!! I love history but this is a colossal waste of $150,000.
As a rule of thumb, if this lady points in one direction you should run the other way.
Considering the money being spent, this isn't the time to go "cheap" and not spend for the engineering that would actually make it work.
And its not about people being more active in the community but rather that some of these people just complain allllllllll the time about everything that is done downtown. Examples - color of the light posts, color of the benches, streets being closed for First Friday, parking lot being used for the Music Series, the ferris wheel, Barry Cassidy, the CDC, Skip Lawrence, the newspaper, Molly MacGuires, the Fenix, parking, the parking authority, etc, etc, etc.
All of these complaints and yet no one does anything about it. Thats what I'm tired of is the constant complaining and whining about everything. Can't people just say "hey, I don't like the idea of a ferris wheel because of A,B, and C but I do see how Ms Cohen has raised the money herself and if thats what they want to do with the money THEY raised then so be it". Maybe its not what you or I would have used the money for but then again, YOU OR I didn't raise the money.
Is it not clear to you all that movement like this will certainly continue with Phoenixville's chart topping reputation?!!
I love it and 150.000 dollars is well worth the price for the stories and history that will be dug up around the wheel.
Roll on.
Again, ferris wheel is a private venture with private funding (it was never meant to work - it is an art installation) - What don't you get?
And by the way, our tax increase this year will be higher already due to the schools raising taxes. If you feel you don't pay enough in tax money to schools you are more then welcome to donate any portion of your paycheck to the school system. Step up joker because I'm still "WAITING............"!
By the way, how did Ms. Cohen "save" the steel mill? Last I checked it was a vacant building.
To my East Ward Representatives, Mr. Mayor, and other Council Members:
While reading the "Phoenix" this morning (8/29/08) there was one part of the article that really stuck me. A quote from the paper:
"The SRHC plans to work with the CDC, Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau, the Phoenixville Borough Council and neighboring townships that are part of the Regional Planning Group to raise the necessary funds to restore the wheel.
The wheel will then be given to the borough for placement and installation on the former Phoenix Steel property, where it was created more than a century ago." (Bold characters mine).
"...given to the borough....." Free of charge?
I don't think so. Who's going to pay for the installation? Is the borough going to obtain, by one means or another, a plot of ground from whoever owns the property now? How is the borough going to pay upkeep and maintenance? How about insurance? I'm sure this will be an attractive nuisance for those who like to climb or spray paint.
Lot's of questions, but only one answer. If the borough accepts this wheel, the taxpayers (you and me) will end up paying for it.
Sure, SRHC has the money to buy it and, thanks to other donations, the money to move it and maybe eventually have the money to put it together. But if the borough takes and installs it then we the citizens and taxpayers of Phoenixville will pay and pay as long as it exists.
I agree that the Wheel is a part of local history. The same as a number of bridges that were build by the Phoenix Bridge Co. As far as I know no one is trying to buy what is left of the Kinzua bridge that the Company built in 1882. Wouldn't it look nice spanning from the end of Starr Street to over the bluffs?
Yep, the Wheel is history and should remain so. So is the bridge.
Neither one is a Griffen Gun which rightly deserves its place in a Borough Park.
Yes, John Griffen was not a born and raised Phoenixvillian, but he did operate the Phoenix Iron Works and even served as a town burgess and a member of the school board in addition to designing the Ordinance Rifle.
I personally would prefer to see a portion of it melted down and the rest sold for scrap. Ten thousand 12" to 15" replica's of the wheel be made from what was melted down. These, along with a drawing of the original wheel and a write up of it and the Steel Mill could be sold for $20.00 apiece.
Anyone want to own a REAL piece of Phoenix Steel?
THE WHEEL!! Also, all the kids will say," yes we live in the town with the Wheel that never lets us ride"! LOL It's got to be Phoenixville! Two Thumbs Up! LOL
To the person who asked about Barb Cohen saving the steel mill - Ms Cohen, although a polarizing figure, has made some great contributions to the town. She was one of the original group of people that came together to acquire funding to save the "set for demolition" steel mill foundry building. Yes thats right, people like Ed in the previous comments could have cared less about pieces of architectural history. But some people banded together to drum up funding to purchase the steel mill (that was the easy part). After that they need multiple millions in grants and donations to restore the foundry. The foundry (whether people like Ed would admit it or not - is one of the most significant buildings in the state of Pa). The building was designed by an architectural firm that included Frank Loyd Wright. Although Mr Wright did not work on the steel mill himself, the firm at that time was one of the most forward thinking firms of its time (Mr Wright was just one of the many talented architects in that firm). If you still don't understand its significance all you have to do is look at the foundry building and look at other steel mills of its time and you'll notice lots of differences. One being the stone construction as apposed to steel (made to last and be more efficient as a working building). Another is the top of the steel mill which was surrounded by all windows that opened and were designed to let light in to increase working moral and to vent the hot gases produced from the molten steel production. Also most steel mills are set up in a line formation to promote production. Thats good but these architects thought it could be better so they designed the Phoenix Steel Company to be a square (again with worker moral in mind) so the workers could be in constant contact with each other, work together, interact more, and increase safety. I could go on and on but lets put it this way - Ms Cohen was one of the people that helped save a significant building in our history. People (like Ed) thought she was crazy. Now she wants to help save a ferris wheel and people still think shes crazy. At some point doesn't she deserve some level of trust and support. Instead of doubt and ridicule from people like Ed. Keep it coming Ed, I love your forward thinking and desire to retain important elements of our past as a town.
As far as the foundry is concerned - Yep, they did a great job in restoring it. At the cost of around five million (that's a 5 with 6 zeros) dollars.
But that wasn't OUR money, you say. Grants and donations did it. OUR money someplace along the line either part of our income taxes or sales taxes played a big role in that 5 million.
And there it sits. The Heritage Center which is open once in a while and the rest empty.
I'm not against saving historical items or buildings when practical, but there are limits.
My home town was home to the largest Zinc refining plant in the world (New Jersey Zinc Co). Progress led to its demise and the only thing saved was the main corporate building downtown.
The rest of the land is now being decontaminated and restored by Horse Head Industries and the EPA.
As far as F. L. Wright goes - he designed many buildings many of which still exist, Falling Water for example, and many buildings in Buffalo, NY. Two of those that have historical significance are pretty much self supporting by charging admission (although they still get some grant money). At Falling Water for $16.00 you can tour the home. And the Martin House in Buffalo can be toured for $15 to $40 depending on how much of a tour you want.
How much would you be willing to pay to tour the Foundry? Will it ever be self-supporting with minimum grant money? Or will it remain a white elephant forever in Phoenixville?
But isn't it turning into a wedding hall, conference building sometime in the near future? At least that's what their website says. It's a nice looking website by the way.
Ed please don't speak unless you have something significant to add. You are obviously very ignorant about arts and architecture. They have words for folks like yourself, most of which I cannot even type on a blog (Idiot is one of the safer ones).
Hey Ed, the Hankin Group felt it was important enough to purchase and invest in its future. Surely whatever little job you have can't muster up enough guts to save anything of significance let alone open a respectable business. I think most people would trust the Hankin Groups business investment knowledge over yours. You can't even make a proper argument on a blog to an anonymous blogger so I can't imagine you'd do to well in the big business world. Thats why there's a big league in baseball and the little league. You are in the tee-ball category.
Please Eddie, I'm still waiting for that number. Go do some research and report back to me. Class out!
From the "Phoenix" 4/11/2006:
PHOENIXVILLE - While standing at the entrance to the newly-refurbished Phoenix Column Bridge which crosses the French Creek, two U.S. lawmakers gave the borough a gift worth several million dollars.
"This is a great morning for Phoenixville," said Borough Council President John Messina (D-North).
Messina introduced U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6-PA,) who signed and presented a $5 million check to the borough for the French Creek Parkway which will connect the intersection of Starr and Bridge streets to North Main Street, near the Foundry.
"Whenever we have the opportunity, we find dollars to come back home," Gerlach said.
The congressman, who has long championed Phoenixville and its projects, secured $4 million of the $5 million for the borough from the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
Santorum added,"This is a $5 million check, but four out of the five (million dollars) Jim is completely responsible for."
The $5 million dollars was money only to be used for the foundry and was used for the foundry. So don't even start those stupid arguments of "we need money to pay our bills" or "what about the schools", or "my sidewalk has a crack". These are your typical idiotic arguments that make no sense since THE MONEY WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE FOUNDRY BUILDING! Sorry for the breaking news but let those who put up the money decide where their money goes.
It would appear since it came from Harrisburg - It was yours and mine. Taxpayer monies it would seem to me.
The one person we forget about is the guy who got the money for the ferris wheel. He is laughing all the way to the bank right now that some sucker bought this thing.
Barb Vanderslice