Gilbert Erector Ferris Wheel
New Haven, CT, 1928-1932
This operable Erector model was undoubtedly inspired by Mr. Ferris's original 1893 design. It is not to scale.
In this version - which is larger than the classic version available from 1935 to 1962 - the wheel itself is about 1/80 full size(about the scale of HO model trains!) and the cars are about 1/30 full size.
There was a special Set B available to build this model, but with no motor and only four cars. The motorized version shown here is built from a Set B plus a LOT of extra parts. The car roofs are reproductions.
This page
last updated: April 12, 2007 
This humble-looking Standard Vacuum Sweeper is the reason this Museum exists. In the early 1970s, accountant Frank Livermore spotted this sweeper in the corner of a local junk shop and, intrigued by its mechanical workings, Frank bought it on the spot. From that day on, he became a collector, and soon his Menlo Park home was bulging at the seams with his eclectic collection of antique mechanical and electrical devices.
Frank's friends joked that he should start a Museum of his own and, when one gave him a sign saying, Smithsonian West, Frank began to take the idea seriously. Frank and attorney Perry Moerdyke began the process of forming a registered non-profit Museum. In 1985 the Museum of American Heritage was incorporated. Frank's collection formed the nucleus of the Museum. In 1990 the Museum of American Heritage opened at its first location on Alma Street in Palo Alto and in 1997 MOAH was awarded tenancy of the City of Palo Alto's historic Williams House.
The Frank Livermore Trust was established to provide ongoing financial support for the care and maintenance of the collection.
Frank passed away in 2000, yet his curiosity and reverence for the spirit of innovation lives on in this Museum.
Today the collection boasts over 6,000 mechanical and electrical artifacts largely dating from the 1850s to the 1950s, which are housed in an offsite warehouse. Our artifacts are displayed in rotating exhibits at the Museum and are often loaned to other Museums and institutions for exhibit purposes.
Original content: Copyright © 2000 - 2007 Museum of American Heritage
Trademarks are the property of their owners
This humble-looking Standard Vacuum Sweeper is the reason this Museum exists. In the early 1970s, accountant Frank Livermore spotted this sweeper in the corner of a local junk shop and, intrigued by its mechanical workings, Frank bought it on the spot. From that day on, he became a collector, and soon his Menlo Park home was bulging at the seams with his eclectic collection of antique mechanical and electrical devices.
Frank's friends joked that he should start a Museum of his own and, when one gave him a sign saying, Smithsonian West, Frank began to take the idea seriously. Frank and attorney Perry Moerdyke began the process of forming a registered non-profit Museum. In 1985 the Museum of American Heritage was incorporated. Frank's collection formed the nucleus of the Museum. In 1990 the Museum of American Heritage opened at its first location on Alma Street in Palo Alto and in 1997 MOAH was awarded tenancy of the City of Palo Alto's historic Williams House.
The Frank Livermore Trust was established to provide ongoing financial support for the care and maintenance of the collection.
Frank passed away in 2000, yet his curiosity and reverence for the spirit of innovation lives on in this Museum.
Today the collection boasts over 6,000 mechanical and electrical artifacts largely dating from the 1850s to the 1950s, which are housed in an offsite warehouse. Our artifacts are displayed in rotating exhibits at the Museum and are often loaned to other Museums and institutions for exhibit purposes.
Trademarks are the property of their owners
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Mailing Address
PO Box 1731, Palo Alto, CA 94302
Join today! Membership dues help sustain MOAH. For more information and to download a Membership Form
LEARN MORE HERE
For questions and comments
Contact Us.
Mailing Address
PO Box 1731, Palo Alto, CA 94302
Visit
351 Homer Avenue
Palo Alto, California
p. 650.321.1004
e.
Contact Us for more info!
351 Homer Avenue
Palo Alto, California
p. 650.321.1004
e.
Hours of Operation:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
from 11am to 4pm.
