This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Photo by Jonathan Alcorn (sundogg) via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
You can find all kinds of stuff on eBay, from trash to treasure, and so long as you are the highest bidder and can cough up the shipping fee, it's yours.
How'd you like to be the proud new owner of a piece of local history, in the form of the nine-story ferris wheel from Santa Monica's Pacific Park? And, hey, cool factor: It was the first solar-powered contraption of its type! C'mon, your backyard is begging for it!
A ten-day auction for the current Pacific Park ferris wheel opens tomorrow on eBay, and anyone is welcome to bid. The reserve price is a mere $50k, and half the proceeds will go to Special Olympics Southern California, reports KNBC. That's a steal, considering the amusement park ride originally cost $800, 000.
If you do win the wheel, however, you're taking on quite a prize...and an obligation.
The thing tips the scales at 122,000 pounds, is 90 feet tall and 30 feet wide. And in case you were hoping to get that dazzling lit-up effect at night, you're going to have to keep lots of lightbulbs handy--the wheel needs 5,392 to keep it at full illumination. (Hint: Get the eco-friendly, energy efficient ones!)
Sounds great, right? Well, there's a bit more of catch besides your electric bill going sky high. The winner needs to move the wheel off the Pier in order to make way for the new one that's being installed early next month. The base isn't part of the auction, "but Kansas-based Chance Morgan Inc. -- the original manufacturer -- will offer the winning bidder a base for about $135,000, with 10 percent of that amount going to Special Olympics Kansas." You're also going to be shy one "Pacific Wheel" signs on the hubs, since one is being donated to the Santa Monica Historical Society.
Happy bidding! Now, let's see, shipping charges on 122, 000 pounds would be...
