Lucy the Elephant is a six-story

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

-shaped wood frame and tin clad building, constructed in 1882 by

James V. Lafferty James Vincent de Paul Lafferty, Jr. (1856–1898) was an American inventor, most famous for his construction of Lucy the Elephant, the Elephantine Colossus and The Light of Asia (also known as "Old Dumbo"). Born to Irish parents in Philadelphia, Pe ...

Margate City Margate City is a city situated on the Jersey Shore on Absecon Island, within Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 5,317, a decrease of ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Lucy was built with the purpose of promoting real estate sales and attracting tourists to the area. Today, Lucy remains the oldest surviving roadside tourist attraction in America.

History

1882–1899

Patenting and construction

On December 5, 1882, the U.S. Patent Office granted

Patent #268503, giving him the exclusive right to make, use or sell an " animal-shaped building" for a duration of seventeen years. Lafferty funded the design and construction of Lucy at South Atlantic City, now called

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

. He employed Philadelphia architects William Free and J. Mason Kirby for the design of this example of

novelty architecture Novelty architecture, also called programmatic architecture or mimetic architecture, is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes for purposes such as advertising or to copy other famous buildings. ...

. Lucy was modeled after

Jumbo Jumbo (December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then tr ...

, the famous elephant with '' Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth,'' and constructed at a cost of $25,000 - $38,000.Walkabout: J. Mason Kirby – Brooklyn’s Elephant Architect
/ref> Initially named "''Elephant Bazaar"'', the structure stands at 65 feet (19.7 m) in height, 60 feet (18.3 m) in length, and 18 feet (5.5 m) in width and weighs about 90 tons. It is currently listed as the 12th tallest statue in the United States. Lucy was constructed with nearly one million pieces of wood, and required 200 kegs of nails, 4 tons of bolts and iron bars; 12,000 square feet of tin covers the exterior. There are 22 windows placed throughout the structure.

Early use and sale

Originally, Lafferty brought potential real estate customers to view parcels of land from Lucy's

howdah A howdah or houdah (, derived from the Arabic which means 'bed carried by a camel') also known as hathi howdah ( ), is a carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal, such as a camel, used most ...

(carriage). The howdah offers unique views of

, Atlantic City's skyline, the beach, and the Atlantic Ocean and it serves as an observation deck for modern day visitors during tours. The structure was sold to Anton Gertzen of Philadelphia in 1887 and remained in his family until 1970. Anton's daughter-in-law, Sophia Gertzen, reportedly dubbed the structure "Lucy the Elephant" in 1902. The shape of Lucy's head is characteristic of an

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

, but only males have tusks. Initially, the elephant was referred to as a male, but eventually became commonly known as a female.

1900–1999

Through the first half of the 20th century, Lucy served as a restaurant, business office, cottage, and tavern (the last closed by

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

). The building was depicted on many souvenir postcards, often referred to as "''The Elephant Hotel of Atlantic City''." (The actual hotel was in a nearby building, not inside the elephant.) By the 1960s, Lucy had fallen into disrepair and was scheduled for demolition. In 1969, Edwin T. Carpenter and others formed the Margate Civic Association, which later became the ''Save Lucy Committee'' under Josephine Harron and Sylvia Carpenter. They were given a 30-day deadline to move the edifice or pay for its demolition. Lucy was spared through various fund-raising events, most notably a door-to-door canvassing campaign by volunteers. On July 20, 1970, Lucy was moved to a city-owned lot, located about 100 yards away. The move took about seven hours and Lucy remained closed to the public for repairs until 1974. The restoration entailed supporting Lucy's original wooden frame with new steel and replacing the howdah. A plug of green glass was set into the howdah platform to refract light into Lucy's interior. In 1971, Lucy was added to both the NJRHP (New Jersey Register of Historic Places} and the NRHP (National Register of Historic Places). In 1976, Lucy was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

during the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

celebration.

2000–present

Lucy's birthday is commemorated each year on July 20, which includes a fundraising event and celebration of children's games and much fanfare. In 2006, Lucy was struck by

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, blackening the tips of the tusks. In October 2012,

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

made landfall near Margate. Lucy remained unscathed, although the surge reached the building's toes and a small booth in the parking lot was blown over. On July 23, 2016, Lucy's staff announced the building's fake candidacy for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

at a celebration for her 135th birthday. In 2016, Lucy had 135,000 visitors at the site, 35,000 of whom took the guided tour. On February 27, 2020, Lucy began allowing overnight stays. Lucy was listed on

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

for $138 per night on March 17, 18 and 19, 2020. It marked the first time Lucy had been inhabited by humans since it was rented as a home in the early 1900s. In August 2021, the Save Lucy Committee announced a plan to repair and replace the metal exterior skin after receiving a $500,000 grant from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. The grant was based on results of a 2021 inspection that revealed that more than half of Lucy's metal skin had degraded beyond repair. The project was partially funded by a grant from the Preserve New Jersey Preservation Fund administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust. Lucy temporarily closed on September 20, 2021, with a reopening date set for Memorial Day 2022. After delays, Lucy reopened on December 28, 2022. The overall cost of the restoration was $2.4 million, a substantial increase from initial projections. On January 5, 2023, the City of Margate approved a plan to create a visitor's center on Lucy's existing site. The proposed 2-story building is designed to include a retail area, information and displays, meeting spaces, and restrooms. The new structure will be located on the site of the existing gift shop and would be elevated to meet current flood codes. In 2023, Lucy booked a new record high of 42,267 tours, surpassing the previous record set in 2018. On August 12, 2024, a $500,000 federal grant to fund the restoration of Lucy's interior spaces was announced. However, the grant was

rescinded In contract law, rescission is an equitable remedy which allows a contractual party to cancel the contract. Parties may rescind if they are the victims of a vitiating factor, such as misrepresentation, mistake, duress, or undue influence. Resci ...

on April 11, 2025.

Lucy In popular culture

Movies

* In 1972, Lucy appeared in the movie ''

The King of Marvin Gardens ''The King of Marvin Gardens'' is a 1972 American drama film. It stars Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn and Scatman Crothers. It is one of several collaborations between Nicholson and director Bob Rafelson. The majority of the film i ...

'', starring

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

and

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Suppo ...

. * In 1980, Lucy can be briefly seen in the opening of the Oscar nominated film, ''

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

'', starring

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

. * In 1983, Lucy is shown on a postcard with a picture in the opening credits of the film, ''

National Lampoon's Vacation ''National Lampoon's Vacation'', sometimes referred to as simply ''Vacation'', is a 1983 American black comedy road film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, and Chris ...

''. * An ice cream shop with a living area above shaped like Lucy appears in the 1991 Disney film '' The Rocketeer'', although the film takes place in Southern California. * The ''Jardin the Paris Elephant'', a real-life large elephant structure inspired by “''

Elephantine Colossus The Elephantine Colossus (also known as the Colossal Elephant or the Elephant Colossus, or by its function as the Elephant Hotel) was a tourist attraction located on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City. It was built in the shape of an elepha ...

''”, (a larger version of Lucy, built by Lafferty in 1885 on

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

), is featured as the location of the boudoir of

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

's character in the 2001 film ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows an English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan ...

'' *In 2015, Lucy was featured in the opening credits of the film ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or school or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for sp ...

,'' similar to the original 1983 film, ''

''.

Television

* In 1979, Lucy appeared in the intro to the short-lived

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

drama series '' Big Shamus, Little Shamus'' which takes place in Atlantic City. *In 1986, Lucy appeared on an episode of ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...

,'' in which

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television s ...

took a short tour of Lucy. *In November 2006, the building was prominently featured in an advertisement for ''Proformance Insurance''. *In 2006, the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

television series '' Weird U.S.'' featured Lucy in an episode. * In 2009, Lucy was featured in an episode of ''

Life After People ''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of h ...

'', which illustrated how the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

would take over the structure without people to maintain Lucy. * In a 2011 episode of ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'', Agent Van Alden mentions "a hotel shaped like an elephant" among the local attractions. Lucy is also briefly seen in the second-season episode "Gimcrack & Bunkum". * On April 2, 2014, Lucy appeared in a clip on an episode of Strange Inheritance, which mainly featured the World's tallest thermometer, another well-known roadside attraction. * On June 14, 2014,

The Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with offices in Silver S ...

's '' Monumental Mysteries'' featured Lucy the Elephant in an episode. * The 2017 movie The Dunning Man shows footage of the effort to preserve the building. *In 2021, Lucy appeared in an episode of the PBS series ''Drive By History'' which described her cultural significance in American history.

Music

* 2020: A song named "Lucy The Elephant" was written, created, and performed by Dan Walsh and Patty Blee. * 2023: A song named "That Big Elephant" was written, created, and performed by YouTuber and musician Grey Jones (Better known online as Sneezy puppy 5639) For his album "NJ The Great"

Digital / Print media

* 2012: Lucy was featured in the book, ''Stay Close'' by

Harlan Coben Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple ...

(). * April 18, 2015: Lucy was featured in the Bill Griffith daily comic strip "

Zippy the Pinhead Zippy the Pinhead is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ''Zippy'', an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. Zippy's most famous quotation, "Are we having fun yet?", appears in ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' and became a ...

". * July, 2022: '''Big Potato Games announced that Lucy will be among 49 popular national roadside attractions featured in "''Zillionaires: Road Trip USA''", its new Monopoly style family board game. * May, 2024: In a USA Today '10 Best Poll', Lucy was voted #1 on the 2024 list of 10 must-see roadside attractions across the country.

Other structures by Lafferty

Elephantine Colossus (1885–1896)

The ''Elephantine Colossus'' or ''Elephant Hotel'', at

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, stood 122 feet (37.2 m) tall, approximately twice the size of Lucy, with seven floors of rooms, and legs 60 feet in circumference. With the exception of the number and relative size of the windows, and the design of the howdah, its exterior was a nearly exact scaled-up replication of Lucy. It held a cigar store in one leg and a diorama in another, hotel rooms within the elephant proper, and an observation area at the top with panoramic sea views. It burned down in 1896.

Light of Asia (1884–1900)

''Light of Asia'' (dubbed ''Old Jumbo'' by locals) opened in

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

in 1884, and was a slightly smaller version of Lucy. It was not successful and was torn down within 16 years. Lafferty was not directly involved with the construction but granted patent rights to Theodore M. Rieger, a real estate developer like himself, who sought to do for Cape May what Lafferty did with Lucy for Atlantic City It is unclear whether the Light of Asia matched the quality of the other buildings; the only known surviving photo of ''Light of Asia'' appears to have been taken while still under construction with no metal skin and an incomplete head, and with yet another different howdah design. A video presented to visitors inside Lucy in 2009 includes that same photo with the narration describing it as Cape May's "inferior rendition" of Lucy.

Prospectus for 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

A prospectus was published in 1892 by Kirby (while Lafferty still owned the patent) for a fourth building, even larger than Elephantine Colossus and with a moving trunk, eyeballs, ears and tail as well as a

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

in the throat, to be built for the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

.Sideshow World: Chicago prospectus
/ref> No actual construction was ever attempted.

References

External links

Lucy the Elephant
- Official website
Life after People (2009)The Travel Channel's Monumental Mysteries featuring Lucy

HD Video taken 07 Aug 2009Weird NJ Visits Lucy the Elephant (2007)"House Built Like Elephant Contains Six Rooms", December 1932, Popular Mechanics
* {{NRHP in Atlantic County, New Jersey Commercial buildings completed in 1881 Novelty buildings in New Jersey Roadside attractions in New Jersey National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey Tourist attractions in Atlantic County, New Jersey Historic American Buildings Survey in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Atlantic County, New Jersey Margate City, New Jersey Elephants in art New Jersey Register of Historic Places 1881 establishments in New Jersey Landmarks in New Jersey