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Lucy the Elephant, Margate In 1881, a builder from Philadelphia by the name of James V. Lafferty, Jr., built one of the most unique pieces of architecture to appear on the New Jersey coast. He decided to build a sixty-five foot wooden elephant, which would one day become nationally recognized as Lucy. Lafferty spent a total of $25,000 building the large wooden pachyderm in Margate City, New Jersey. Lucy is located right on the beach and can be seen from approximately eight miles away without binoculars. Lafferty decided to sell Lucy in 1887 to Mr. John Gertzen. After the Gertzen family took over, Lucys exterior slowly started to decay. After Gertzens death in 1916, his wife Sofia and their two children began giving tours of Lucy, which from the top provided a wonderful view of the city, ocean, and beach.
Over the years, business started to decline, and in 1969, a committee of Margate residents organized the Save the Lucy committee to raise money to restore and move the elephant. The committee nearly reached their goal of $10,000, and on June 20th, 1970, the whole city of Margate was out in the streets to watch this sixty-five foot, ninety ton elephant move down the street to its new location. Seven days later, June 27th became known as Lucy Day. In 1976, Lucy was designated as a National Historic Landmark; she is now world famous. Over the years, the Save the Lucy committee has raised over $600,000 to restore Lucy for future generations. With the help of committee president Josephine Harron and vice president Sylvia Carpenter, the committee continues raising money with tours, a gift shop, a snack stand, and live entertainment, all held on the premises. (CJS)
 Lucy the Elephant, 1883, Margate (Atlantic County).  Lucy the Elephant, 1883, Margate (Atlantic County).  Lucy the Elephant - View from Beach. Photographs by K. N. Ogden and Warren Ogden. It is often said that Lucy was built as a hotel, but that is not the case. The confusion probably results from postcards and other images labelled "Laffertys Elephant Hotel," which featured Lucy prominently in the foreground; the hotel, less noticeable in the photographs, was located immediately behind the elephant.(1) The structure on Lucys back is a "howdah," or Indian riding carriage. Featuring views of Margate and the ocean, it is accessible to tourists visiting the elephant.
(1)Guided tour of Lucy the Elephant, November 16, 2003.
Additional references:
Jonathan Darman and David Noonen, Roadside Kitsch, Newsweek (August 26, 2002), pp.50-51.
Martin DeAngelis, Lucy inherits elephantine fortune from secret admirer, The Press of Atlantic City (Feb. 17, 2003), pp.C1, C5. http://www.lucytheelephant.org |
