What a terrific idea to preserve history. I hope the educational director talks about how elephants are threatened. Use this Lucy to mobilize kids to save all Lucys!
3
We've never spent the night, of course, but we've been there - and inside too. What a cool and unique attraction! Recommended for being much more fun and interesting than you think it's going to be.
4
A slightly more self-promoting — not to mention imaginative — owner would have run with happy coincidence and renamed Lucy the Elephant, Lucy the Helfant.
2
Nevermind that Lucy looks like it's made of paper mache, this is awesome news
2
Sounds like fun.
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Looks clean and attractive inside! I stayed at an “Indian Teepee” resort in Arizona 20 years ago; what a mistake. It was so bad I ended up bailing and heading to the Hampton Inn...
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It’s easy to imagine Lucy being painted all-white a few years ago as a visual double-metaphor for Chris Christie as the state’s governor.
2
How wonderful! And at $138 a night? The price is peanuts!!
4
My 82 year old husband is from Margate and we just welcomed a grandchild named Lucy. I hope we can live long enough to take her there. Very cool story.
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Richard Helfant! Come on, you’re kidding,
It wouldn’t take much for him to change it to Richard Heliphant!!
I love this. There once was a cafe on US1 just south of Melbourne, Florida in the shape of a huge coffee pot. I wish it was still there. If I’m ever anywhere near NJ I’ll be sure to stay there.
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I grew up in south Jersey and am familiar with Lucy. But I've never seen the inside before. Creepy. I tried to picture being in there, sleeping in there, and couldn't imagine doing it. Like, what's with the fake dog? Being petted.
4
What a charming story and a great piece of history! I wish I could read this type of article everyday.
4
Lucy is good humor, fantasy and imagination. She impressed me when I was a child about 60 years ago. I went back to visit with my kids when they were preteens. One is in Texas and one is in Japan. I just hope that Lucy is lodged in their memories and can help revive some childhood cheer and smiles. I'll forward the article to them to find out.
10
Please, please, PLEASE make more nights available. I loved Lucy when I was a kid. I'd love to see her again, and her insides. :)
4
We used to walk down the boardwalk from Atlantic City when we were kids to the elephant - it was so wonderful, Thank you for making me smile and bringing back those memories. We loved Atlantic City in the 60s.
4
Thanks for this story that made me smile. I have never walked through Lucy, but now I think a road trip to Margate is in order. The Jersey Shore has always been a unique place and it’s good to see there are places and people that still value quirkiness over bland gentrification.
4
Thank you for this story. My wife's grandparents used to live in Margate and she's told me about the elephant for years but I've never before seen it.
9
Lucy was sadly on the skids for decades along with a good bit of Absecon Island, of which Atlantic City and Margate are part. Here, it's often sighs of disappointment and resignation when another beloved institution withers or the FBI shows ups to seize the records of yet another local official.
But bravo to all for breathing new life into Lucy, one of those unique American treasures we often can't seem to save. Lucy's resilience is a very good thing for this neck of the NJ woods.
13
Thanx for triggering a memory of carefree summers and trips to the Jersey Shore towns. My parents took the family to this many times when i was a child. It was one of my favorite places and i never got tired of walking thru it at least once a summer thru-out the 1950s.
11
Wow! My dad was an engineer for the firm that did the major restoration on Lucy in the 70s (I am not sure of the exact year since I was a kid then) and he used to take me inside to see what the workmen were doing. It seemed like everything inside Lucy was curved. These carpenters were highly skilled and did much of the framing using scribes, their own eyes and experience. It was a wonderful thing to see as it happened.
Lucy is a Jersey Shore treasure.
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@KHolms Interesting. I don't know what it would have been like in the 70s, but the walls are now flat, although the ceiling is rounded. Mr. Helfant told me they had to build a buffer between the original curved wooden frame to allow air to circulate and to eliminate rot/mold.
11
@Tracey Tully
Yes there were no walls at the time. The structural members were exposed for work. My 10 year old (or so) mind thought they were like ribs. It was really exciting.
13
I wish people still built fun architecture. I'm tired of McMansions!
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What a nice story!
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@Diana Thank you. It was a fun one to report.
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Mr. Helfant should definitely consider adding an extra e to his name so that he could be Mr. Helefant.
15
"human handler and lifelong cheerleader, Richard Helfant."
The Yiddish word for elephant is "helfand" or "helfant".
Was Richard Helfant destined for this role, or did he perhaps change his name to deepen his elephantine bond?
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@David Mann
Thanks for the etymology lesson--fascinating. As Richard Helfant's second cousin (our grandmothers were sisters--who spoke Yiddish, coincidentally), I can attest to the fact that Helfant is indeed his actual name.
10
We need more whimsy, magic and creativity that doesn’t come off as too snooty. I think this fits right in!
23
Utterly charming story. I Love Lucy
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@Connie Thank you. This was a fun one to report. I've lived in NJ most of my life but I'd never been inside until yesterday.
18
I grew up near Margate and Lucy was a fixture of my early-70’s childhood...I used to beg my Dad to take me to see her. I can’t overstate her impact on an impressionable kid...she’s definitely unique, love her still!
23
Thank you for publishing this among all the bad news. It’s made my day so much better.
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@LC @LC This makes me happy to read. Glad you enjoyed it.
13