Date of Sign Unveiling: 21 June 2026
Speakers: Richard Young, Member, London Public Library Board’s Historic Sites Committee; Josh Morgan, Mayor, City of London; Doug Eyre, Officer, London Musicians Association; Chuck Jones, representing the Jones family
Location: 285 Wonderland Rd. S., Springbank Park
Remembering Wonderland Gardens
The story of Wonderland Gardens begins in the early 1930s, when Charles Jones and his younger brother Wilfrid, tagged as “impresarios in sport and entertainment” by the London Free Press, signed a long-term lease for a small lot in Westminster Township, adjacent to the Thames River. The plan was to build a series of gardens, fountains, woods, ponds, and footpaths, including a luxurious swimming pool, all surrounding a 550-square-metre, open-air Italian terrazzo dance floor with a bandstand and Spanish Colonial-style pavilion.
On May 24, 1935, Wonderland Summer Gardens, billed as Canada’s Finest and Largest Rendezvous, opened to general public acclaim.
On opening night, patrons enjoyed the sounds of the ten-piece Mickey McDougall Orchestra. The venue was an immediate success and operated six nights a week throughout the summer. Frequent inclement weather necessitated the building of a covered pavilion in 1941. In 1959, the ballroom was completely enclosed and insulated enabling Wonderland to remain open year-round.
Wonderland’s Hollywood-style pool with its sloping sides and water slides offered a cool respite to bathers on hot summer days, while Tea Gardens were added in 1940. In 1950, Charles imported a 50-inch screen television from England and ran a cable from a thirty-three-metre aerial at the family home to the island. At a time when family televisions were uncommon, TV Island gained significant popularity. On any given Sunday, 150 people would be sitting in chairs watching The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1984, the 90-seat Riverside Restaurant opened.
Big bands ruled at Wonderland for much of its existence. International acts like Woody Herman, Dorsey Brothers, Count Basie, and, of course, native-born Londoner, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians graced the venue’s stage from the 1930s to the 1950s. Local musicians like Lionel Thornton, Johnny Downs, and Alf Tibbs were often on the bill.
Entertainment at Wonderland evolved in response to changing musical tastes and audiences. By the 1960s, thousands of teenagers flocked to see major acts like Sly and the Family Stone, Deep Purple, Mandala, and Grant Smith and the Power.
Wonderland was also a jumping-off point for local bands like The Bluesmen Revue, A Small Experience, The New Set, and The Comic Opera, who mostly opened for the headliners.
For the late John Sharpe, The New Set’s former drummer, Wonderland held a special place in his musical career.
“A group could play any number of teen towns or private events, but everyone knew you had not really ‘made it’ until you played Wonderland,” recalled John. “It was a magical place that attracted hundreds of teens to its weekly rock ‘n’ roll shows, so every group in the area wanted in on the action.”
Jim Chapman, former bassist for The Bluesmen Revue, a very popular London R&B group, remembers headlining at Wonderland many times.
“The room had excellent acoustics both on the stage and in the hall. In those days, which was the exception rather than the norm,” Jim recalls. “And it had one of the smallest dressing rooms I ever saw in a venue that size. How the multi-person big bands ever managed to get their people dressed for a gig I cannot imagine!”
Ken Thorne, of A Small Experience, another London band that regularly played Wonderland, remembers the venue’s dressing rooms, too.
“The original dressing room walls were scrawled with the signatures of many of the artists who performed there. Whenever we played there, we used to try and find the new additions while waiting to go on stage,” says Ken.
In August 1969, Wonderland hosted a two-day Pop Festival featuring Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Alice Cooper, Cat Mother & The All Night News Boys, George Olliver & The Natural Gas, and others for the price of $7.00! The event preceded the much larger Woodstock Music Festival that took place in New York State, later that month.
Rumour had it that Frank Zappa waterskied on the heavily polluted Thames River, which flowed behind Wonderland. The rumour was confirmed by Charles “Chuck” Jones Jr.
In its last years, Wonderland transitioned from a dance hall into a convention and dining facility. The venue closed on January 1, 2004, after a final dance featuring Lowdown, and its contents were auctioned off. Unfortunately, on August 29, 2005, the empty dance pavilion was destroyed by a suspected electrical fire.
On June 8, 2008, the City of London opened Springbank Gardens, featuring a renovated bandshell and the Guy Lombardo Pavilion, an arched pine and cedar building resembling the original ballroom. Today, the venue hosts summer music events and private functions.
Prepared by Richard Young, member of the Historic Sites Committee of the London Public Library Board, working in partnership with the City of London.
