OCEAN CITY, N.J. — For generations of vacationers heading to Ocean City, the towering “Giant Wheel” was the first thing they saw from miles away.

The sight of the 140-foot-tall ride let them know they were getting close to the Jersey Shore town that calls itself “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” with its promise of kid-friendly beaches, seagulls and sea shells, and a bustling boardwalk full of pizza, ice cream and cotton candy.

And in the heart of it was Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, an amusement park that was the latest in nearly a century-long line of family- friendly amusement attractions operated by the family of Ocean City’s mayor.

But the rides fell silent and still Sunday night, as the park run by the mayor and nurtured by generations of his ancestors, closed down, the victim of financial woes made worse by the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Superstorm Sandy.

Gillian and his family have operated amusement rides and attractions on the Ocean City Boardwalk for 94 years. The latest iteration of the park, Wonderland, opened in 1965.

“I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible, through increasingly difficult challenges each year,” Mayor Jay Gillian wrote in August when he announced the park would close. “It’s been my life, my legacy and my family. But it’s no longer a viable business.”

Sheryl Gross was at the park for its final day with her two children and five grandchildren. “My daughter is 43 and I’ve been coming here since she was 2 years old in a stroller,” she said. “Now I’m here with my grandchildren.”

She remembers bringing her family from Gloucester Township in the southern New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia to create happy family memories at Wonderland.

“Just the excitement on their faces when they get on the rides,” she said. “It really made it feel family-friendly. A lot of that is going to be lost now.”

There were long lines Sunday for the Giant Wheel, the log flume and other popular rides as people used the last of ride tickets many had bought earlier in the year, thinking Wonderland would go on forever.

A local nonprofit group, Friends of OCNJ History and Culture, is raising money to try to save the amusement park, possibly under a new owner who might be more amenable to buying it with some financial assistance. Bill Merritt, one of the nonprofit’s leaders, said the group has raised over $1 million to help meet what could be a $20 million price tag for the property.

“Ocean City will be fundamentally different without this attraction,” he said. “This town relies on being family-friendly. The park has rides targeted at kids; it’s called ‘Wonderland’ for a reason.”

The property’s owner, Icona Resorts, previously proposed a $150 million, 325-room luxury hotel elsewhere on Ocean City’s boardwalk, but the city rejected those plans. CEO Eustace Mita said he would take at least until the end of the year to propose a use for the property.