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He was really beautiful wasnt he? 
A Ferris wheel that was the centerpiece of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s paean to childhood, Neverland Ranch, was made right here.
For a pretty penny.
But the late King of Pop apparently wasn’t worried over the price tag.
Not when he specifically sought Eli Bridge Co. for the one-of-a-kind custom-designed Ferris wheel.
After nearly four months of construction, the wine-colored, illuminated Ferris wheel was shipped to Jackson’s 2,800-acre spread in Santa Barbara County, Calif. It stayed until a few years ago when Jackson had to sell it and many other extravagant items to pay down millions in debt.
The wheel was bought at auction by Archway Amusements of Imperial, Mo., and has traveled with the company’s other rides to various regional fairs, according to a St. Louis Fox News station’s story.
Last week the notorious wheel graced the midway at the Olivette Summer-Fest in Missouri.
Back when the wheel was built, it was an undertaking unlike anything Eli Bridge had ever done before, President Patty Sullivan recalled Wednesday.
In 2000, Eli Bridge was quickly approaching its 100-year anniversary. A call that year would bring it its biggest client ever.
Jackson representatives behind Neverland Ranch contacted the Jacksonville company after apparently checking around with several different amusement ride manufacturers.
“They were interested in one of our wheels,” Sullivan said.
By that time, Eli Bridge has many different models and series of Ferris wheels, but the music superstar was looking to put his own stamp on the attraction.
“They ordered a different kind of color — pinot noir, kind of a red wine color, and they also ordered a wheel with more lights on it than we’ve ever done before,” Sullivan said.
It was then the most expensive wheel built by the local company and carried a price tag of about $215,000.
During the three-month-plus construction, would-be Neverland Ranch operators and employees visited Jacksonville to learn from the experts on Ferris wheel assembly, maintenance and safety.
For the actual set-up at Neverland Ranch, just one employee went out to California to monitor the assembly, Sullivan said.
The King of Pop took the inaugural ride on the wheel after its assembly.
“Michael really seemed to enjoy the ride,” Sullivan recalled.
After the ride was delivered and setup, Michael Jackson sent autographed photos for each of the Eli Bridge Co. employees.
“That was pretty special,” Sullivan said.
But perhaps not as special as seeing the hometown built creation in all its glory in person.
Years after the Eli Bridge ride thrilled visitors at Neverland Ranch, Sullivan was invited to the California property by the general manager.
“It was really quite a set up out there,” she said of the amusement park, zoo, theater and other features of Neverland Ranch.
Despite controversy gripping the pop star after Eli Bridge supplied a Ferris wheel at his California property, Sullivan said she was happy that the wheel was enjoyed by the families visiting Neverland Ranch.
“It was really exciting to have sold a wheel to Michael Jackson and know that it was at his ranch, where it could be enjoyed by so many underprivileged kids and Michael himself,” she said. “It was a thrill.”
