- The iconic Ferris wheel at the shuttered Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey, will soon be demolished.
- Developer Eustace Mita said the ride cannot be relocated or preserved because salt-air corrosion has fused its structural components.
- The historic amusement pier opened in 1965 and permanently closed in 2024, leaving local residents and past visitors grieving the loss.
- Mita plans to replace the decaying pier with a 252-room oceanfront hotel after the site was designated as an area needing rehabilitation.
- Local community groups have filed a lawsuit against the Ocean City Council to challenge the redevelopment designation.
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