Lucy the Elephant
Encyclopedia
Elephant hotel redirects here. For the National Historic Landmark
located in Somers, New York
, see Elephant Hotel
.
Lucy the Elephant is a six-story elephant
-shaped example of novelty architecture
, constructed of wood and tin sheeting in 1882 by James V. Lafferty
in Margate City, New Jersey
, two miles (3.2 km) south of Atlantic City
, in an effort to sell real estate and attract tourism.
architecture based on this patent.
Lafferty, in fact, constructed several elephant-shaped buildings. The first was built at South Atlantic City, which later changed its name to Margate. This structure, whose original name was "Elephant Bazaar", was dubbed "Lucy the Elephant" in 1900. She stands 65 feet (19.7 m) high, 60 feet (18.3 m) long, and 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, weighs about 90 tons, and is made of nearly one million pieces of wood. She was sold to new owners in 1887. The second to be built, the Elephantine Colossus, also known as the Elephant Hotel was built at Coney Island
amusement park
in Brooklyn
, New York
. It was 12 stories (122 feet, 37.2 m) tall, with legs 60 feet in circumference. It held a cigar store in one leg and a dioramic display in another, hotel rooms within the elephant proper, and an observation area at the top with panoramic sea views. The Elephantine Colossus was destroyed by fire in 1896. The third, officially the Light of Asia, but dubbed Old Dumbo by locals, was built at Cape May
in 1884. It was later torn down: only Lucy survived into the next century.
). A popular story is that Lucy once housed a hotel, but this is untrue. Lucy had fallen into disrepair by the 1960s and was scheduled for demolition. She was moved and refurbished as a result of a "Save Lucy" campaign in 1970 and received designation as a National Historic Landmark
in 1976.
According to the official history of Lucy published by the Save Lucy Committee, in 1969 Edwin T. Carpenter and a group of Margate citizens formed the Margate Civic Association, which eventually under Josephine Harron and Sylvia Carpenter become the Save Lucy Committee. They were given a 30-day deadline for relocation, or be solely responsible to demolition and removal costs. Money was raised by various fund-raising events, with the most successful being a door to door canvass by volunteers. She was moved and refurbished in 1970 and received designation as a National Historic Landmark
in 1976.
Lucy was struck by lightning
for the first time in Spring 2006; the tips of the tusk
s became blackened.
Lucy's head shape identifies her as an Asian Elephant
. She has tusks, which is a feature found only in male Asian elephants. In the first few years following her construction she was referred to as a male, however she is now generally considered to be female.
In November 2006, Lucy was prominently featured in an advertisement for Proformance Insurance.
Lucy was also featured in the show Life After People
in 2009. This showed how the environment
would take over the structure of the elephant
over periods of time without people to maintain Lucy.
Lucy enjoys annual birthday celebrations on July 20 if it is a weekend, celebrated with children's games and much fanfare, or on the weekend following July 20 (if it is a weekday).
carriage atop Lucy, also known as a hathi howdah, is a replica of the 1881 original created by James Lafferty. In 1881, real estate customers ascended stairs on the back of the elephant to the top of Lucy, where Mr. Lafferty could point out real estate parcels available for sale in the distance. Access to Lucy's howdah today is accomplished by ascending a narrow spiral staircase from within. Tourists, especially children, enjoy climbing to the top of Lucy and enjoying the view of the Margate City, New Jersey
ocean and the Atlantic City skyline. The green howdah glass on which tourists stand inside the howdah has a special design which refracts the light into Lucy's interior.
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
located in Somers, New York
Somers, New York
Somers is a town located in northeastern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 20,434...
, see Elephant Hotel
Elephant Hotel
You may be looking for the Coney Island elephant hotel, also known as Lucy the Elephant.The Elephant Hotel is a National Historic Landmark located in Somers, New York, a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as Somers Town...
.
Lucy the Elephant is a six-story elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
-shaped example of novelty architecture
Novelty architecture
Novelty architecture is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes as a novelty, such as advertising, notoriety as a landmark, or simple eccentricity of the owner or architect. Many examples of novelty architecture take the form of buildings that...
, constructed of wood and tin sheeting in 1882 by James V. Lafferty
James V. Lafferty
James Vincent de Paul Lafferty, Jr. was an Irish-American inventor, most famous for his construction of Lucy the Elephant. Born to Irish parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he received Patent Number 268503, on December 5, 1882 to protect his original invention, as well as any animal-shaped...
in Margate City, New Jersey
Margate City, New Jersey
Margate City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 6,354.Margate City was originally incorporated as the borough of South Atlantic City by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 7, 1885, from portions of Egg Harbor...
, two miles (3.2 km) south of Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, in an effort to sell real estate and attract tourism.
Zoomorphic architecture
The idea of an animal-shaped building was innovative, and in 1882 the U.S. Patent Office granted Lafferty a patent giving him the exclusive right to make, use or sell animal-shaped buildings for seventeen years. Lucy is the oldest example of zoomorphicZoomorphism
Zoomorphism is the shaping of something in animal form or terms. Examples include:*Art that imagines humans as animals*Art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal*Art that creates patterns using animal imagery, or animal style...
architecture based on this patent.
Lafferty, in fact, constructed several elephant-shaped buildings. The first was built at South Atlantic City, which later changed its name to Margate. This structure, whose original name was "Elephant Bazaar", was dubbed "Lucy the Elephant" in 1900. She stands 65 feet (19.7 m) high, 60 feet (18.3 m) long, and 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, weighs about 90 tons, and is made of nearly one million pieces of wood. She was sold to new owners in 1887. The second to be built, the Elephantine Colossus, also known as the Elephant Hotel was built at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was 12 stories (122 feet, 37.2 m) tall, with legs 60 feet in circumference. It held a cigar store in one leg and a dioramic display in another, hotel rooms within the elephant proper, and an observation area at the top with panoramic sea views. The Elephantine Colossus was destroyed by fire in 1896. The third, officially the Light of Asia, but dubbed Old Dumbo by locals, was built at Cape May
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
in 1884. It was later torn down: only Lucy survived into the next century.
Save Lucy
Over the years, Lucy had served as a restaurant, business office, cottage, and tavern (the last closed by ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
). A popular story is that Lucy once housed a hotel, but this is untrue. Lucy had fallen into disrepair by the 1960s and was scheduled for demolition. She was moved and refurbished as a result of a "Save Lucy" campaign in 1970 and received designation as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1976.
According to the official history of Lucy published by the Save Lucy Committee, in 1969 Edwin T. Carpenter and a group of Margate citizens formed the Margate Civic Association, which eventually under Josephine Harron and Sylvia Carpenter become the Save Lucy Committee. They were given a 30-day deadline for relocation, or be solely responsible to demolition and removal costs. Money was raised by various fund-raising events, with the most successful being a door to door canvass by volunteers. She was moved and refurbished in 1970 and received designation as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1976.
Lucy was struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
for the first time in Spring 2006; the tips of the tusk
Tusk
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canines, as with warthogs, wild boar, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors...
s became blackened.
Lucy's head shape identifies her as an Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
. She has tusks, which is a feature found only in male Asian elephants. In the first few years following her construction she was referred to as a male, however she is now generally considered to be female.
In November 2006, Lucy was prominently featured in an advertisement for Proformance Insurance.
Lucy was also featured in the show Life After People
Life After People
Life After People is a television documentary series where scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth might be like if humanity no longer existed, as well as the impact humanity's disappearance might have on the environment and the artificial aspects of civilization...
in 2009. This showed how the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
would take over the structure of the elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
over periods of time without people to maintain Lucy.
Lucy enjoys annual birthday celebrations on July 20 if it is a weekend, celebrated with children's games and much fanfare, or on the weekend following July 20 (if it is a weekday).
Howdah carriage
The howdahHowdah
A howdah, or houdah, also known as hathi howdah, is a carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal, used most often in the past to carry wealthy people or for use in hunting or warfare...
carriage atop Lucy, also known as a hathi howdah, is a replica of the 1881 original created by James Lafferty. In 1881, real estate customers ascended stairs on the back of the elephant to the top of Lucy, where Mr. Lafferty could point out real estate parcels available for sale in the distance. Access to Lucy's howdah today is accomplished by ascending a narrow spiral staircase from within. Tourists, especially children, enjoy climbing to the top of Lucy and enjoying the view of the Margate City, New Jersey
Margate City, New Jersey
Margate City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 6,354.Margate City was originally incorporated as the borough of South Atlantic City by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 7, 1885, from portions of Egg Harbor...
ocean and the Atlantic City skyline. The green howdah glass on which tourists stand inside the howdah has a special design which refracts the light into Lucy's interior.
See also
- TillieTillieTillie is the nickname of two murals of a grinning figure that were painted on the side of the Palace Amusements building in Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States. Tillie is an amusement park "fun face," painted over the winter of 1955-1956. The name Tillie is likely a nod to George C. Tilyou,...
– another colorful icon of the Jersey Shore - Charles RibartCharles RibartCharles-François Ribart was an 18th century French architect.-Architectural career:In 1758, he planned an addition to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, to be constructed where the Arc de Triomphe now stands. It consisted of three levels, to be built in the shape of an elephant, with entry via a spiral...
– and his plan for the site of L'Arc de Triomphe - Novelty architectureNovelty architectureNovelty architecture is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes as a novelty, such as advertising, notoriety as a landmark, or simple eccentricity of the owner or architect. Many examples of novelty architecture take the form of buildings that...
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Atlantic County, New Jersey