On October 13, 2024, Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey, closed after 94 years. Opened in 1930 by David Gillian and later run by son Roy, the amusement park, located at 6th and Boardwalk, became an institution on the Jersey Shore, drawing crowds to Ocean City for nearly a century for its 144-foot Giant Wheel—once one of the largest ferris wheels on the east coast—and its centerpiece carousel, featuring a Brass ring dispenser, allowing riders to grab a ring while riding the carousel and toss it at a target to win prizes.
After its closure in 2024, New Jersey singer and songwriter Renee Maskin started writing about her childhood summer haunt, chronicling the final days of Wonderland Pier, and the “nostalgia, change, and bittersweet end of a boardwalk landmark.”
Weather’s given into fall / In the wind and in the walls / You fall asleep in the grass / And time rushes by, sings Maskin on the Americana tribute to the Jersey landmark. Along with director John Decker, the music video was filmed during the final days Wonderland was open, with Super 8mm footage of the park and rides—and the lights.
“You could see the Ferris wheel lit up like a beacon out in the distance well before the Ocean City Exit,” remembers Maskin, who pierces through on the closing We watch the lights go out / Wonderland is shutting down / We watch the lights go out / Wonderland is coming down / We watch the lights go out.
“It was always a sign that we were close,” she adds. “I’ll miss the lights.”
For Maskin, who released her fourth album, Is It Real, in 2025, Wonderland was a “mascot” of her childhood summers in Ocean City and a place she says she took for granted. “In my mind, they have always been there and will stay there forever,” Maskin told American Songwriter. “Wonderland was a sad reminder that most things in this world are temporary, even places and things that are beloved.”
Maskin shared her story behind “Wonderland,” performing near home in Asbury Park, and why she’s not as nostalgic for the past as she seems.
Videos by American Songwriter
American Songwriter: “Wonderland” is a nostalgic and personal trip for you. What was your personal experience with Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City?
Renee Maskin: I grew up going to Ocean City, New Jersey, with my family every summer since I was 2 years old. There’s several aspects of that town that seem set apart from time, and Wonderland was kind of the mascot for that feeling. In my experience, there are some places and things that I just sort of take for granted. In my mind, they have always been there and will stay there forever. Wonderland was a sad reminder that most things in this world are temporary, even places and things that are beloved.
AS: It’s often difficult to lose a place that has lasted for so long, including places like Wonderland. Do you find yourself gravitating more toward stories/songs that are reminders of another place and time?
RM: I have a funny sense of it. I don’t necessarily long for the past the way a lot of people do. I don’t particularly miss being a kid. I don’t believe that the world was necessarily better in some past time. I’ve lived in Brooklyn and seen how much rapid change was a part of that landscape. Change on steroids. In my current home of Asbury Park, I see a lot of it, too. I guess for me, when something seems relatively unaffected by time, it stands out. And that’s what makes it harder when it does finally come to an end. It’s like watching something that stood up to the world finally give in. Rather than a sentimentality for past times, I think I’m more about the longing for something to stand the test of time and stay.
AS: Sonically, was there something you wanted to capture on the song?
RM: There’s a sweetness to it that’s not in all of my songs. “Wonderland” is a little on the poppier end of my catalog, but it makes sense for the song. The sadness in the strings, the twangy Americana guitars, it’s all pulling towards that sense of longing and loss.
AS: The music video has the perfect graininess. Visually, what did you hope to convey with the “Wonderland” video?
RM: It’s actual Super 8mm film and not some filter or digital overlay, so that’s special in itself. A legit antiquated medium for a song about an antiquated amusement park. John Decker, who shot and edited the video, and I went to Wonderland during its final days of operation and went through a roll of film, walking around and riding the rides. Funny enough, for the most part, the video edited itself. You watch the sun setting on this place, literally and figuratively.
AS: What do you still miss most about Gillian’s Wonderland Pier?
RM: I miss it being lit up. Driving Parkway South way down in South Jersey, you could see the Ferris wheel lit up like a beacon out in the distance, well before the Ocean City Exit. It was always a sign that we were close. I’ll miss the lights.
AS: Is “Wonderland” part of a larger project, a new album?
RM: Not yet. I wrote the song last year and had it in my mind to release it for the anniversary of the park closing down. I do have intentions to do more with the song in a larger body of work, but for now, it’s a standalone single. I’m always working on projects, so I’m sure it will find its way into one again in the future.
AS: Thinking back to your work with (former band) Lowlight and through your debut Swimming (2022) and now, how has songwriting shifted for you throughout the years?
RM: The process doesn’t change all that much. I changed, though. I’ll listen back to older songs, and it feels like someone else wrote them. That’s a good thing, though. I think, or at least I hope, that being a little sheepish about who you were ten or twenty years ago is generally a sign that you’re growing as a human being. But the process is more or less the same. I write every day. These days, I get up before the sun comes up and work on songs.
AS: What’s next for you?
RM: I have another album or two of solo material waiting to be finished, and I have a new band, Renee Maskin & The Wilder Tide, that’s been recording and starting to gig a bit here in Asbury Park.
I have an endless amount of energy and enthusiasm for music, and there just never seems to be enough time to make it all come to life as fast as I would like it to. The hamster wheel keeps on turning,
Photos: John Decker
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.