Cross placed atop Wonder Wheel, lights up for different causes and dedications

The tradition started in 1945 under ownership of the 

A longtime winter tradition lives on in Coney Island.

For the 80th year, the cross has been installed atop the Wonder Wheel for the holiday season Nov. 25. 

The tradition started to mark the end of World War II and the return of troops.

On the Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park Facebook page, the owners have invited people to post requests for colors in dedication to family and friends in the comments. On the day when the cross is scheduled to be lit for their loved one or cause, they post it on the thread. 

“The holiday Cross atop the Wonder Wheel is a tradition that started way before my family became fortunate enough to take care of this New York City icon,” co-owner Deno “DJ” Vourderis told this paper. “It started under the previous owners, the Garms family, in 1945. It was the end of World War II, and to welcome home our greatest generation after the horrors of that war, the tradition started.  Because all the gondolas of the Wonder Wheel were taken off for maintenance, the spot where stationary car number eight stood was free for the Cross.  That is where it continues to be secured and lit during the holiday season.”

The original cross was wood with neon lights. When Vourderis was still in college, his father taught him how to weld in the Wonder Wheel shop. Once he got better at it, he welded for the park a new cross made of aluminum lit with LEDs that could change color. 

“This is before the first iPhone, before the App Store, 56k modems were the latest tech,” he said. “Yet the new cross could be controlled remotely with a Wi-Fi connection, computer, BlackBerry, or PDA.”

So far, the cross has been lit purple for domestic violence awareness, orange for Thanksgiving, blue to thank the NYPD, and gold for childhood cancer.

“Christianity is my moral compass, but I don’t believe any one faith is any more true,” Vourderis said. “We are all people, and whatever works for peace works for me. The Cross on top of the Wonder Wheel is about hope. It has the ability to inspire, and we try to use it for that purpose. People can choose a color for a dedication to a loved one or a cause that’s important to them. This brings people together and helps us better understand each other. To my family and I, the Cross is a symbol of peace.”

Fans of the theme park have expressed excitement about the tradition.

“It’s almost like a lighthouse for the boats coming through the fog and into New York City,” wrote one person on Facebook.

“I think it’s so wonderful that you accept requests,” wrote another.

To view the wheel and the lit cross in real time, visit earthcam.com/usa/newyork/coneyisland.