Yes, indeed. That is a giant elephant standing along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in beautiful Margate, New Jersey. She overlooks the water with her big, curious eyes and has an ornate seat – called a howdah – perched atop her back.
These days Lucy the Elephant is pretty well known around the Jersey Shore community. But back in the late 1800s, it came as quite a shock to one young seaman when he and his crew arrived along the Southern Jersey seashore from the West Indies to find a 65-foot-tall pachyderm staring back at them. As legend has it, the young seaman first reported “All’s well” upon arrival before suddenly exclaiming, “Elephant!” Naturally, the ship’s captain thought the seaman had gone crazy and immediately rushed to the deck. However, after looking through his glass – then wiping it off and looking once more – the captain confirmed that Lucy was real.
As it turns out, Lucy was built and strategically placed along the shoreline by land speculator James V. Lafferty, Jr. in 1882 at a total cost of around $25,000. In his building application, Lafferty reportedly stated, “My invention consists of a building in the form of an animal, the body of which is floored and divided into rooms … the legs contain the stairs which lead to the body.” Lafferty owned several pieces of land in the area and came up with the idea of Lucy as a lure to attract visitors and potential buyers to his properties.
Unfortunately for Lafferty, he extended himself too far in his real estate dealings and ended up selling several pieces of property – including Lucy – to Anton Gertzen of Philadelphia in 1887. The Gertzen family owned Lucy for nearly a century before ultimately transferring ownership to the Margate Civic Association in 1969.
Lucy the Elephant has faced several hardships in her life, including a severe storm in 1903 that left her standing knee-deep in sand; a near-fire in 1904; a hurricane in 1944 that destroyed the boardwalk; and a scheduled demolition in the 1970s that spurred the creation of the Save Lucy Committee, which still exists today.
The elephant is now a national historic landmark and accommodates field trips and guided tours year-round inside its museum-like interior.
The income generated by the tours and gift shop is typically enough to cover operating costs, but Lucy depends largely on donations to help fund maintenance costs, which average approximately $12,000 every two years.
Anyone up for a field trip?
Best wishes,
Karen-