By Matthew Enuco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The iconic Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, a family-run amusement park on Ocean City’s boardwalk for 94 years, plans to close after this summer due to financial hardship, the owner announced Friday.
“I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible – through increasingly difficult challenges each year,” owner Jay Gillian said in a message posted on Facebook. “But it’s no longer a viable business. We will terminate our multi-year lease in a couple of months. The property is no longer mine, so I can’t speak to its future.”
Gillian, who is also Ocean City’s mayor, said he has been working at the amusement park since he was 13.
“After 47 years working on the Ocean City Boardwalk, I have little choice but to retire and close Gillian’s Wonderland Pier and 6th Street Pizza and Grill, embarking on a new chapter in my life,” Gillian said. ”The 94 years of tradition at Gillian’s amusements on the Boardwalk have been cherished by so many people, none more than me.”
The iconic facade of the park resembles a white and red castle and its 144-foot tall Giant Wheel that towers over the Ocean City beaches is visible from miles away, including the Garden State Parkway. The amusement rides include a historic carousel built in 1926.
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