Margate City, New Jersey
5 July 2023
In Margate City resides the famous historical landmark, Lucy the Elephant. It had undergone renovations for quite some time, but was finally completed so we thought it was the perfect time for a trip there.
It is essentially a house that was built in the shape of an elephant. It was originally built in 1881 and withstood multiple storms. At one point, it's location was moved too! Due to the land it was standing on being sold, Lucy was at risk for demolition. Luckily, a committee was formed to protect it and it was moved a few blocks away to where it now stands. It was only named a historic landmark in 1976. We also found out there were three other similar structures in New Jersey, but Lucy is the last remaining.
The inside is rather interesting! There are stairs in the hind legs, and even stairs that lead to standing on top of the elephant. You get a chance to see how the layers of wall are made, and even what the bathrooms/bedrooms looked like. It is much more spacious than it seems from the outside, but the room sizes are small. Our tour guide said that at one point, it was even an Airbnb.
This visit has made us curious about other interesting structures that are built in odd shapes...I wonder what surprises places like the goose house (Goose Grease House for the Arts) in Long Island hold.
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