An Afternoon in Wonderland

On June 21, my friend Nick and I attended a concert at Springbank Gardens, where a variety of free jazz, R&B, country, and blues performances are being held this summer. The swing band we enjoyed, Ron Gilbert & The Music Makers, was excellent, playing a variety of big band hits. The music was appropriate for the occasion, a celebration of Wonderland's history.

Ron Gilbert & The Music Makers. Vocalist Gillian Laidlaw at left.

Yes, this was "Wonderland," founded in the big band era, back in 1935. It was on May 24th of that year that Charles and Wilf Jones first opened Wonderland Summer Gardens, the music that night provided by Mickey McDougall and his orchestra. The building had cost a whopping $18,000 to construct.* 

1940s postcard from Photogelatine Engraving Co., Toronto. While there are no humans in this view, a dog is stretched out in the right foreground! Author's collection.

The Jones family operated Wonderland right into the 21st century. The music changed, of course; acts included Alice Cooper, Frank Zappa, Deep Purple, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. And it wasn't just a concert venue; it could be rented for gala occasions like my high school graduation. Yes, a teenage Jenny partied here, along with the rest of Westminster's Class of '89.  

Something happened in 2004, and I'm not clear what. After reading online articles, I suspect that the City of London wanted a bigger rent increase than long-time operator Chuck Jones could afford. It also sounds like the city considered updates were necessary if Wonderland was going to remain a competitive top-tier music venue. 

As so often happens with London's historic buildings, part of the complex burned down in 2005. It was redeveloped as Springbank Gardens in 2008 with an open-air pavilion beside the original outdoor bandshell. 

Now there's a long-overdue historic plaque on the nearby river path. It was unveiled just before Sunday afternoon's concert to much applause and a brief speech by Mayor Josh Morgan. Chuck and Don Jones, second-generation operators, were there to tell weepy-eyed stories about the good old days. 

For my friend Nick, the occasion was personal. His dad, Harold, played the drums in the Mickey McDougall band. Nick was taken to concerts by his father when he was only about four years old and tried to stay awake while the band played. All the girls thought he was a cutie.

Nick points at his dad in the photo of the Mickey McDougall Orchestra on the new Wonderland Gardens historical plaque. The plaque has been added by the City of London and the London Public Library Historic Sites Committee.

While it's sad that the original building was destroyed, it's great that "Wonderland" is still used for concerts, 91 years after the 1935 grand opening. 

Some other interesting facts:

The Guy Lombardo Museum opened nearby on May 19, 1984, for $90,000. This little museum closed in September 2007, due to poor attendance. Why? Perhaps a younger generation had forgotten London-born Guy Lombardo. Or perhaps the museum was mismanaged by an eccentric curator. 

Wonderland Road was named after Wonderland Gardens, not the other way around. The road started in the 1950s as a gravel driveway leading into the Gardens from Springbank Drive. When the nearby Guy Lombardo Bridge was built in 1978, it was dismissed as "the bridge to nowhere,** since all it did was connect Wonderland to the former Hutton Side Road. The result has become London's busiest north-south artery.

Londoners often think Guy Lombardo and The Royal Canadians played at Wonderland Gardens all the time. Actually, they only played at the Gardens twice, more than 30 years after they became famous.***

One of the attractions at Wonderland was a huge "Hollywood-style" outdoor swimming pool with sloping sides. The change rooms were old streetcars. **** Neighbourhood children could get a season pass for $5. ***** Sadly, by the time I arrived in London in the 1980s, the pool was abandoned, weeds growing through its cracks. Just another part of Wonderland's heyday that I missed. 

*Dan Brock, Fragments From The Forks. London, Ontario: London & Middlesex Historical Society, 2011, p, 233.

** Michael Baker & Hilary Bates Neary, eds., London Street Names. Toronto: James Lorimer & Co., 2026, p. 145.

*** Above, p. 146.

**** According to the new historical plaque.

***** Chuck Jones, speech, Wonderland Gardens, June 21, 2026.