About Giant Uniroyal Tire
The enormous Uniroyal tire beside Interstate 94 looks like an advertisement dreamed up at impossible scale. It stands about 80 feet tall, weighs roughly 12 tons, and has tread several inches deep. Despite its appearance, the structure is not made from ordinary tire rubber. Its shell uses fiberglass-reinforced resin over a steel framework.
The tire was built for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, where it served as a Ferris wheel with passenger gondolas around the rim. After the fair closed, the structure was dismantled, shipped to Michigan in sections, and rebuilt near Detroit as a permanent roadside landmark. The passenger cars were removed, leaving behind the giant tire familiar to generations of motorists.
This is primarily a drive-by sight. It can be seen from I-94 and nearby public roads, but the land immediately around it is not a public attraction. Visitors should not stop on the freeway shoulder or enter private property. The best experience is the sudden view of a colossal piece of automotive history rising above the traffic.