I-94's giant Uniroyal Tire, once a Ferris wheel in New York, turns 60

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·3 min read
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Before there was the controversial Detroit sign along Interstate 94 to welcome visitors to the city for the 2024 NFL Draft, there was the Uniroyal Tire — also on I-94, but in Allen Park, closer to Metro Airport — which has been greeting folks to the area for decades.

On Monday, the 80-foot-tall tire, built as a Ferris wheel for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, turned 60.

Critics of the new, 8-foot tall D-E-T-R-O-I-T sign, which recently went up, note the tire is much bigger.

The huge Uniroyal tire on 94.
The huge Uniroyal tire on 94.

In 1965, after the fair, the tire was moved to Michigan as a static display and has sat there ever since. In 2012, Mark Phelan, the Free Press auto critic and columnist, wrote about it, calling the tire “the first neat thing I knew about Michigan.”

It is a significant childhood memory, the auto critic added. At 12, Phelan wrote, his family moved to the state and his father pointed to it, telling his son it was the “biggest in the world.” Curious, as an adult, Phelan was able to go inside the tire and record a video.

See inside I-94's giant Uniroyal tire

In addition to reminding all who pass it that metro Detroit is the Motor City, the tire also — to point out the obvious — is a promotion for Uniroyal.

A large Detroit sign is seen in between traffic on the eastbound side of Interstate 94 in Detroit on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
A large Detroit sign is seen in between traffic on the eastbound side of Interstate 94 in Detroit on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.

Uniroyal, formerly the U.S. Rubber Co., is now owned by Michelin, a French tire maker. U.S. Rubber was founded in 1892 in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and is one of the 12 original stocks that made up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The company built the Ferris wheel, which still boasts of being the largest nonproduction tire-scale model ever, to be the centerpiece of its pavilion. Some famous folks who reportedly rode in it, include Jacqueline Kennedy, Telly Savalas, and the Shah of Iran.

However, Steven Frey, who wrote, a book about the tire, "The Giant Tire: From New York World's Fair to Detroit Landmark," told the Free Press in an email that during his research he could find no news account from the 60s that the actor or the Shah was ever on the Ferris wheel.

Uniroyal giant tire was created as a Ferris wheel at the 1964/65 New York World's Fair. More than 2 million people rode the wheel during the fair, including Jacqueline Kennedy, her children and the Shah of Iran.
Uniroyal giant tire was created as a Ferris wheel at the 1964/65 New York World's Fair. More than 2 million people rode the wheel during the fair, including Jacqueline Kennedy, her children and the Shah of Iran.

In addition, the tire is not made of rubber, but a polyester resin and fiberglass.

After the fair, the New York Times reported Uniroyal offered to give away the $750,000 structure to New York — or whatever municipality wanted it — as long it covered the cost to move and set it up, estimated to be about $300,000.

New York passed, but Allen Park asked for it.

According to the Free Press, it took 22 trucks to haul it to Michigan from New York, and, over time has transformed from a whitewall tire to a radial. It also used to have a big nail in it, but that was auctioned off and removed.

If the tire were scaled to a car, the vehicle would be 200 feet tall.

Uniroyal brand director Michelle Grim, said the tire has brought smiles to people’s faces for years.

"As a Detroit native myself," she added, "I am among those who enjoy the sight of the landmark that embodies the endurance, grit, and automotive industry ingenuity that is rooted in the city of Detroit and also in Uniroyal tires."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: I-94's giant Uniroyal Tire, once a Ferris wheel in New York, turns 60