Santa Monica Ferris wheel sold on EBay

The first thing Grant Humpreys ever bought on EBay was the Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel – sight unseen – for $132,400.

Humphreys, the son of a former Oklahoma City mayor, placed the winning bid just before the online auction closed at noon today (Pacific Daylight Time). The 32-year-old real estate developer was one of six bidders who placed 35 bids on the nine-story-tall wheel. The auction generated 9,342 watchers and 400,000 page views.

The final price jumped nearly $50,000 in a flurry of bids during the last 10 minutes of the sale, according to L.A. Now.

Humphreys plans to incorporate the iconic oceanfront wheel into an Oklahoma City mixed-use commercial/residential community within the next three to five years, said Gayle Wilson, who handles financial matters in Humpreys’ real estate office.

“We’re out here in the middle of America,” Wilson said, clearly still excited by the purchase. “We don’t have too many shiny toys.”

The father of four (with a fifth on the way) plans to visit Santa Monica with his family during the first weekend in May to take a spin on his new ride, said Wilson, who was busy booking the flight.

Humphreys must cover the shipping cost of the 122,000-pound wheel, plus kick in an additional $135,000 for a supporting base.

Pacific Park plans a $1.5-million state-of-the-art replacement for the wheel that will feature computer-generated special-effects lighting in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the
Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Santa Monica Pier]

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 4:54 pm by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Family & Kids, Los Angeles, Midwestern States, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.