In 1766 Emperor Joseph II handed over the royal “Prater” hunting grounds to the people of Vienna. Soon leisure and hospitality establishments was drawn to the area. Starting in 1774, Johann Georg Stuwer staged pyrotechnical displays in the area north of today’s Ausstellungsstrasse. Leading up to the World Exhibition of 1873, the former Feuerwerksallee was officially renamed to Ausstellungsstrasse.

Between 1870-1875 the Danube regulation turned wetlands into valuable real estate. Starting in the 1880s a new neighborhood was established on the north side of Ausstellungsstrasse. Many of these original houses still exist today. The Ferries wheel opened in 1897 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I.