This handsome facility in a fine setting is today’s Mystery Photo. It’s of a classical design and very much in use today. Your job is to tell us where it is. Send your thought to ebrack2@gmail.com and include your hometown.
The last Mystery Photo was far-fetched, but a small contingent of readers figured it out. The photo came from Chuck Miller of Lawrenceville.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas wrote about the photo: “Today’s mystery photo is a ca.1945 photo of the original Wiener Riesenrad (aka Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel) in the background, and the miniature Lilliput Railway in the foreground, which were part of the Prater Amusement Park in Austria’s capital city, Vienna. The photo was taken during reconstruction of the site after it had been mostly destroyed in 1944 during World War II.
“The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel was originally built in 1897 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830 – 1916), the Emperor of Austria and the King of Hungary from 1848 until his death in 1916. It was built by British engineer Lieutenant Walter B. Basset (1864 – 1907), who had previously constructed similar Ferris wheels in London, Paris, and Blackpool. At the time of its construction, the Wiener Riesenrad was one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels, standing at 212 feet tall. In 1944, during World War II, the Ferris wheel was badly damaged by bombings. The wheel was rebuilt in 1945, but to save on restoration costs, it was refurbished with only 15 gondolas compared to the original 30 cabins.
“The Ferris wheel still operates today using its original steel structure, a testament to 19th-century engineering, and remains one of Vienna’s top tourist attractions, offering stunning panoramic views of the city. Throughout its history, it has appeared in many films since its reconstruction, including, but certainly not limited to the 1949 post-World War II film-noir The Third Man, the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio, and the 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights.”
Others recognizing the photo were George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Stewart Ogilvie, Rehobeth, Ala.; and Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill.
- SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Click here to send an email and please mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
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