Lucy the Elephant facts for kids
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Lucy, the Margate Elephant
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Seen in November 2011
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 Location in Atlantic County, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Location | Margate City, New Jersey |
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| Built | 1881 |
| Architect | James V. Lafferty |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000493 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | August 12, 1971 |
| Designated NHL | May 11, 1976 |
Lucy the Elephant is a giant, six-story building shaped like an elephant. She was built in 1881 using wood and tin. You can find her in Margate City, New Jersey, which is about five miles south of Atlantic City.
Lucy was created by James V. Lafferty. Her first name was Elephant Bazaar. She was built to help sell land and bring in visitors. Today, Lucy is the oldest surviving roadside tourist attraction in America.
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Discover Lucy's Amazing History
How Lucy the Elephant Was Built
In 1881, James V. Lafferty received a special patent. This patent gave him the only right to build animal-shaped buildings for 17 years. Lafferty decided to build his first elephant-shaped building in what is now Margate.
He hired architects William Free and J. Mason Kirby to design Lucy. Lucy was inspired by Jumbo, a very famous elephant from Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth. Building Lucy cost between $25,000 and $38,000.
Lucy's Size and Materials
Lucy is a huge structure. She stands 65 feet (19.7 meters) tall. She is 60 feet (18.3 meters) long and 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. Lucy weighs about 90 tons! She is the 12th tallest statue in the United States.
Lucy was built with nearly one million pieces of wood. Workers used 200 kegs of nails and 4 tons of bolts and iron bars. Her outside is covered with 12,000 square feet of tin. There are 22 windows all over the building.
Lucy's Early Life and Owners
Originally, Lafferty used Lucy to show off land to potential buyers. From her howdah (a carriage on her back), people could see great views. They could see Margate, Atlantic City's skyline, the beach, and the Atlantic Ocean. Today, visitors can still enjoy these views from her observation deck during tours.
In 1887, Lucy was sold to Anton Gertzen. His family owned her until 1970. Anton's daughter-in-law, Sophia Gertzen, gave the building the name "Lucy the Elephant" in 1902. Lucy's head looks like an Asian Elephant.
Lucy's Journey Through the Years
For the first half of the 1900s, Lucy was used for many things. She was a restaurant, an office, a small house, and even a tavern. The tavern closed because of Prohibition. Lucy was also shown on many souvenir postcards. People often called her "The Elephant Hotel of Atlantic City." (The actual hotel was in a building nearby, not inside Lucy herself.)
Saving Lucy from Demolition
By the 1960s, Lucy was in bad shape. She was planned to be torn down. In 1969, Edwin T. Carpenter and other citizens formed the Save Lucy Committee. They had only 30 days to move Lucy or pay for her to be destroyed.
Many events were held to raise money. The most successful was a door-to-door collection by volunteers. On July 20, 1970, Lucy was moved about 100 yards to a new spot. It took about seven hours to move her.
Lucy's Big Renovation
Lucy stayed closed to visitors until 1974. This was because she needed many repairs and upgrades. Her original wooden frame was made stronger with new steel. The old howdah was replaced with a new one that looked just like it. A piece of green glass in the howdah platform lets light into Lucy's inside.
In 1976, Lucy was named a National Historic Landmark. This happened during the United States Bicentennial celebration.
Lucy in the 21st Century
Every year on July 20, Lucy's birthday is celebrated with games and fun.
In 2006, lightning struck Lucy. It blackened the tips of her tusks. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit near Margate. Lucy was not harmed, even though the water reached her toes.
On July 23, 2016, Lucy's staff joked that she was running for President of the United States. This was part of her 135th birthday party. In 2016, 135,000 people visited Lucy. About 35,000 of them took the guided tour.
On February 27, 2020, Lucy started allowing people to stay overnight. She was listed on Airbnb for $138 per night on March 17, 18, and 19, 2020. This was the first time people had lived inside Lucy since the early 1900s.
Other Elephant Buildings by Lafferty
James V. Lafferty also planned or built other elephant-shaped structures.
Elephantine Colossus
The Elephantine Colossus was also known as the Elephant Hotel. It was located at Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn, New York. This building was 122 feet (37.2 meters) tall. That's about twice the size of Lucy! It had seven floors of rooms.
The outside of this elephant looked almost exactly like a bigger version of Lucy. It had a cigar store in one leg and a diorama in another. There were hotel rooms inside the elephant's body. An observation area at the top offered wide views of the sea. Sadly, it burned down in 1896.
Light of Asia
Light of Asia, also called Old Jumbo by locals, opened in Cape May in 1884. It was a bit smaller than Lucy. This building was not very successful and was torn down within 16 years. Lafferty gave the patent rights to Theodore M. Rieger, who wanted to do for Cape May what Lafferty did for Atlantic City.
Images for kids
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Lucy the Elephant in 2019
