Asbury Park’s iconic Ferris wheel spins back to life — just not in New Jersey

A symbol on most postcards sent from Asbury Park featured the boardwalk and the imposing Ferris wheel.

The Ferris wheel was a structure featured for 132 years from 1895 to 1988. Children upon arriving in Asbury Park could see the Ferris wheel in the distance, it became a rite of passage for the summer, and you knew that your vacation was about to finally take place. It was a symbol that brought happiness and good times.

The wheel gets a new home

Fittingly, the Asbury Park Ferris wheel will get a new home; it will go back to the makers of that wheel, 90 miles west in the center of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

The residents of Phoenixville always referred to the Asbury Park Ferris wheel as the Phoenix wheel. It was built in Phoenixville and sent to Asbury Park for its iconic tenure.

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The details of rebuilding the wheel

The 78-foot high 68-foot-wide iconic wheel will cost $2 million to rebuild and will become a permanent sculpture adjacent to Phoenixville’s Township Building by the French Creek Trail. The reassembling and restoration of the original steel components is underway. The project was spearheaded by the Schuylkill Heritage Center who plans to present the final sculpture in the spring of 2026.

The wheel will be illuminated and its base surrounded by glass fencing. There will be signage detailing the wheels’ remarkable history along with the recognition of those sponsors who made the restoration possible.

I congratulate the Schuylkill Heritage Center for having the wherewithal to bring back such a major part of the history of Asbury Park and realizing the significance of that iconic structure.

Once in place, it is worth those of us in New Jersey who saw it in all its glory and the children and adults who never had that opportunity to drive the 90 miles and relive memories.