MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. — A Ferris wheel once owned by Michael Jackson is quietly touring the South.
A liquidation sale scattered many of the rides from Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in California.
Jackson reportedly purchased the Ferris wheel for $215,000 in 1990 and took the first ride on it when workers installed it at Neverland. It stayed there as Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at the ranch in 2003.
He was acquitted two years later, but the scandal drove him from Neverland. Over the next four years, the property fell into disrepair.
Co-owner Theresa Noerper says Archway Amusements bought the 65-foot-tall Ferris wheel last year. The Missouri-based company began taking it on the seasonal fair and carnival circuit. The company painted the supporting arms green, but the metal molding around the seats remains the color Jackson ordered from the manufacturer — pinot noir red.
Archway Amusements doesn’t go out of its way to publicize the Ferris wheel’s ties to Jackson. But word of mouth has gotten to some hardcore Jackson fans.
When Jackson died June 25, local police were concerned that the ride might be mobbed by mourners. That didn’t happen.
“They come to take pictures, a couple tears and everybody likes to ride it,” Noerper said.
