Lucy the Elephant

Lucy, the Margate Elephant
Lucy in 2019
Location9200 Atlantic Ave Margate City, New Jersey
Coordinates39°19′14.33″N 74°30′42.85″W / 39.3206472°N 74.5119028°W / 39.3206472; -74.5119028
Built1882; 142 years ago (1882)
ArchitectJames V. Lafferty
NRHP reference No.71000493
NJRHP No.383[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 12, 1971[2]
Designated NHLMay 11, 1976[3]
Designated NJRHPApril 7, 1971

Lucy the Elephant is a six-story elephant-shaped wood frame and tin clad building, constructed in 1882 by James V. Lafferty in Margate City, New Jersey. 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.[4]

  1. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Atlantic County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. June 2, 2011. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  3. ^ "Lucy, The Margate Elephant". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Emma (July 11, 2015). "Elephants Never Forget — And At 6 Stories Tall, This One's Unforgettable". www.wnyc.org. NPR. Retrieved October 8, 2016.