How many New Jersey beach towns have a giant elephant sitting on the beach?
Well if you guessed one then you would be correct.
Margate, NJ, home to Lucy the Elephant, is the only beach town in NJ to have a six-story, elephant-shaped building sitting on valuable beach front property.
Margate, NJ, home to Lucy the Elephant, is the only beach town in NJ to have a six-story, elephant-shaped building sitting on valuable beach front property.
Recently I was in Margate and I decided to visit Lucy. One of the reasons I wanted see her was because I heard she used to be a hotel, a rumor which I discovered to be untrue, though she has housed a restaurant, business office, and tavern over the years.
Nestled among the elaborate vacations homes, many with fish filled fountains gracing their perfectly clipped, bright green lawns, Lucy looks tiny, standing 65 feet high, 60 feet long and 18 feet high, in comparison to the deluxe condos and three story mansions that surround her.
I didn’t know what to expect when I embarked on my visit, but I didn’t expect an elephant themed gift shop, though I guess I should’ve since every tourist attraction I have ever been to has a gift shop. The gift shop employees impressed me more than Lucy did. The employees are very knowledgeable about Lucy and her history and, since I’m a history buff, I loved hearing them talk about her history.
I guess I could have taken the $7 tour, which is offered every half hour, and ventured inside Lucy, but I figured that would be a waste of money, especially since the gift shop employees were willing to part with Lucy’s history for free.
Lucy, “born” in 1882 to proud father James V. Lafferty, inventor of animal shaped buildings, was built in an effort to sell real estate and attract tourism. Lafferty created several elephant-shaped buildings, including one in Cape May, NJ, which was later torn down, but only Lucy survives. However, over the years, Lucy’s life has been threatened several times, including in 2006 when she was struck by lightening.
In addition to being Margate’s claim to fame, Lucy, is famous in her own right. In 2009 she was featured in an episode of the show Life After People, which showed how the environment would take over the Lucy without people to maintain her.
Though Lucy herself failed to impress me, her history fascinated me and I enjoyed taking pictures of an animal shaped building, the first I have ever seen.
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