Colossus (Ferris wheel)

Colossus is an 180-foot tall (54.9 m) Ferris wheel located at the 1904 World's Fair section of Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, Missouri. It opened on April 18, 1986, and is 165 feet (50.3 m) in diameter, weighs 180 short tons (160 metric tons), and has a maximum capacity of 320 people.[1]

Colossus
Colossus
Six Flags St. Louis
Area1904 World's Fair
Coordinates38.5146403°N 90.6763834°W / 38.5146403; -90.6763834
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 18, 1986 (April 18, 1986)
ReplacedPet-A-Pet
General statistics
ManufacturerCarousel Holland B.V.
ModelFerris wheel
Height54.9 m (180 ft)
Speed10 mph (16 km/h)

The ride debuted at the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair, one of multiple rides at the fair that were operated by Six Flags. About three years after being at the fair, it was relocated to Six Flags St. Louis.[1]

History

1984 New Orleans World's Fair
Main article: 1984 Louisiana World Exposition

Colossus was originally debuted at the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair.[1] It and the other rides there were operated by Six Flags, and it cost $2.50 per passenger to ride. It turned at a rate of 1½ revolutions per minute which equates to 10 mph (16.1 km/h).[2]

Six Flags St. Louis
Main article: Six Flags St. Louis

Colossus stands where the Pet-A-Pet petting zoo used to be. It was removed in 1985 to make room for the addition of Colossus in the 1986 season.[3]

In 1988, an animated Jack-o'-Lantern face made up of orange lights, nicknamed "Jack", and a corresponding lighting program were installed on Colossus for the very first year of Fright Nights (now Fright Fest) at the park. While the lights stayed on the ride all-year afterwards, they were only used for the Halloween season. The light program returned every year until 2016, when it was removed.

In 1992, 2,200 lights were added to the ride for the main season, which displayed a 24-pattern performance with a starburst finale. During the months that the park was closed, they displayed a giant clock face which was visible to those passing on nearby Interstate 44.[2]

Incidents

On June 18, 2009, a power outage at the park stranded some guests on rides, forcing them to have to wait until they were manually released by park officials. Colossus was the most difficult ride to release riders from, because, with no power, it had to be manually cranked to get the passengers to the ground, which took about 75 minutes.[4]

gollark: Increasingly, people seem to want their preferred laws to be enforced at the federal level, probably because something something internet something something greater visibility of further away regions of the country.
gollark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn
gollark: Is it *that* restricted? Apparently there was a thing where it was *somehow* ruled that feeding animals things was "interstate commerce" and thus federally controlled.
gollark: States set their own laws in some things, the central government sets laws for other things.
gollark: I have a rough idea.

References
  1. "Six Flags introduces ride". Southeast Missourian. March 13, 1986.
  2. Anderson, Norman D. (1992), Ferris Wheels: An Illustrated History, Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, p. 138, ISBN 978-0-87972-532-7
  3. "Six Flags St. Louis History". Theme Park Timelines. Archived from the original on 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  4. "Power Outage Strikes Six Flags Over St. Louis". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
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