Lucy the Elephant — Attraction in Margate City

Lucy is a National Historic Landmark located in Ocean City, New Jersey. She was originally built in 1881 by James Lafferty, named the Elephant Bazaar. In 1902, she got a new name and the name she has held since - Lucy. She was named this by Sophia Gertzen after her sister-in-law. (We can only speculate a to the reason)😏 In 1903, she was actually a summer residence for a family from Britain 🇬🇧 Somewhere in there rumors are that Lucy was a part of rum runners with people using her eyes (windows) to signal if the cost was clear to bring in alcohol. There's also a brothel rumor somewhere in there. 🤷‍♀️ By 1970, Lucy had become beaten by the elements, including lightning strikes (several) and water damage. She was donated, and restoration began thanks to the Save Lucy Committee, Inc. In 1976, she was designated as a National Historic Landmark. Yay Lucy! She has continued restoration every couple of years, with the last project costing over 2 million dollars. The private non-profit continues non-stop with fundraising and lots of community support. Tours of the inside of Lucy are available and currently cost about $9/ adult. It was a fun day! However, Lucy does not have public restrooms, something they intend to remedy in the future with the addition of a new gift shop. The current gift shop has plenty of Lucy paraphernalia, including original paintings by a local artist who paints them while inside Lucy. So, if you happen to travel to Ocean City, make sure to stop at Josephine Harron Park to see Lucy (from the...

Lucy, vast pachyderm of timber and tin, You rise not as frivolity, but as form. A geometry of whimsy, an architecture of dream, Rooted in the sand as though the dunes themselves conspired To sculpt your flank, your ribcage, your hollowed hall.

You are no ornament. You are structure made spirit. The elephant is not merely a beast of spectacle, But a principle of nature, Abstracted, translated, And reborn in wood and metal, As though the prairie school found itself Facing the Atlantic.

In your windows, I see prairie horizontals stretched toward sea. In your domed back, I see the organic swell of earth, A lesson: that even an elephant may be architecture And architecture, elephant.

Lucy, you defy the cynicism of modern taste. They call you curiosity, roadside wonder, Yet you are monument, To possibility, to daring, To the audacity that built America’s edges.

If I had drawn you, I would have spoken of nature’s grammar, The curve of tusk, the mass of bone, Translated into cantilever and line. But you stand already, Proof that vision need not justify itself To the textbooks of the profession.

Lucy, you are living architecture: Part folly, part temple, All spirit.

And as the surf breaks endlessly behind you, You remind us: That buildings, like elephants, Carry memory. And in you, the dream of...

I'm a sucker for historic over-sized animal landmarks so I absolutely loved it. I think it's so well worth the $9 admission (free parking too)...We came on a Wednesday when it was raining so we had no problem finding a parking spot and did not have to wait in line (make sure you check tour times before you go because the first tour for us was not until 1:45pm due to the weather)...A tour guide will open up a door on Lucy's rear left foot and guide you up to a mini museum in Lucy's belly. Here you can learn some neat local history and Lucy's life story. She's older than the Statue of Liberty!!! There are windows in some funny places and a top open floor that gives a beautiful view of the beach and the Atlantic ocean. The main reason for the five stars is that Lucy genuinely made me feel happy! It was magical...I saw people of all ages laughing and smiling. I don't know about you, but visiting a really, really big elephant that is also an engineering feat, is way better than following the P. Diddy trial or discussing the 22nd Amendment and whether or not Trump is running again in 2028...Lucy makes for a nice break from what can be very disheartening, bleak times and takes us back to when life was simple...it's nostalgic and memorable in only the best way. From the moment I first saw her, I fell in...