You might be forgiven for wondering why a place called "Navy Pier" would be located in the center of America's midwest, many miles from the ocean. In fact, Chicago really was a major naval port during the two world wars, and many soldiers did board troop ships on this half-mile long pier for the trip through the great lakes, down the St Lawrence river and across the Atlantic. Today the pier is the boarding place for tours of the harbor, and there are numerous attractions along its length, including a stained glass window and a 140 foot high ferris wheel, great grandchild of the world's first ferris wheel, which was constructed for the 1893 Chicago World Expo.