HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY That’s Three Times the Fun as We Celebrate 3 Milestones at Lucy! Saturday, July 18th, we will celebrate Lucy’s 145 birthday, the 50th Anniversary of Lucy being designated as a National Historic landmark and the 250th Birthday of America. The red, white and blue themed celebration will take place from 10am to [...]

Lucy’s Gift Shop Has Moved! Lucy the Elephant is still in her usual spot, but Lucy’s Gift Shop has moved temporarily across the street in preparation for construction of a new Visitor Welcome & Interpretive Center, scheduled to begin soon. The new center will include a bigger gift shop, ADA-compliant restrooms, new exhibits, and spaces […]

That’s right…. you heard it here first!    Lucy the Elephant is running for president, and don’t assume she’s republican simply because she’s an elephant.  Lucy is in a party all her own, and YOU are invited to celebrate Lucy’s 143rd BIRTHDAY PARTY when the official announcement is made on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from […]

Lucy’s Multi-Million Dollar Makeover Birthday Party Saturday, July 22nd from 10am – 8pm Everybody deserves a good spa day from time-to-time -– even if you’re a six-story elephant!!  After a 15-month long “spa day”, Lucy the Elephant emerged from her makeover where she received the absolute best treatment $2.4 Million can buy, and we think you’ll […]

Wednesday, December 28 at 5:30PM Mark your calendars! Lucy’s grand unveiling ceremony is taking place next week and you’re all invited! Margate’s Dan Walsh will sing his very own “Lucy the Elephant” song after which Lucy will be showered in a spectacular display of light. Hope to see everyone there!

An Evening with Deana Martin to benefit Lucy The Elephant (with Special Guest Steven Maglio) Sunday, December 11, 2022 @ 8:00pm — The Superstar Theatre at Resorts Atlantic City Lucy the Elephant, a National Historic Landmark, presents Grammy nominated artist, Deana Martin, in a concert to benefit restoration of the famous New Jersey landmark. Deana Martin […]

This post has been updated. The most recent information pertaining to this posting can be found at the bottom of the page.   Original Posting: Are you ready for the Hap-Hap-Happiest Birthday Party EVER??!!!  Lucy the Elephant is turning 140 years old this July, and we are rolling out the red carpet for this blockbuster of […]

Due to the unprecedented health issue facing America and indeed the World, Lucy the Elephant & Gift Shop will not open this weekend, March 21 & 22 or next weekend, March 28 and 29. While there are no confirmed cases of the virus in Atlantic County as of today and crowds would unlikely exceed 50 […]

Okay, all you Lucy lovers out there!!!  Pack your trunk (…err, your bags)!  The Save Lucy Committee is excited to announce that THREE lucky Airbnb guests and their friends will have the chance to stay inside Lucy the Elephant, one of the first and only National Historic Landmarks now on Airbnb. Starting on March 5th, […]

Love is in the air at Lucy the Elephant this Valentine’s Day! The Save Lucy Committee invites you to join us on Friday, February 14, 2020 for a four-course gourmet experience that will leave you breathless. We are delighted to present an aphrodisiac-inspired menu that has been artfully created by our award-winning chef, Jason Tell, […]

Great Scott!   Can you believe it’s been 50 YEARS?!!!   Time flies when you’re having fun!   The Save Lucy Committee invites you to Lucy’s 138th Birthday Party on Saturday, July 20, 2019 from 10AM – 8PM,….  But this time, let’s go “Back to the Beginning” as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Save Lucy Committee.  […]

UPDATE: Due to expected rain on Saturday, Lucy the Elephant’s 137th Birthday Party has been postponed to SUNDAY, JULY 22ND, 2018 from 10AM-8PM. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to celebrating with you — just one day later than expected! See you Sunday!!!! Original Post: ALL ABOARD!!!  Take a nostalgic ride on The […]

UPDATE: The drawing for this raffle occurred on November 28th, 2018 at 1:00PM EST.  The winners of Lucy’s 2018 “THANKS for GIVING” 50/50 Cash Raffle are: The FIRST PRIZE winner (equal to 35% of gross ticket sales) was Liz C. with Ticket #0338 The SECOND PRIZE winner (equal to 15% of gross ticket sales) was Andrew T. with Ticket #0582 […]

Shhh…. It’s a surprise!  The Save Lucy Committee, Inc. celebrates Lucy’s 136th year with a surprise birthday bash!!!

UPDATE: The drawing for this raffle occurred on November 3rd, 2017 at 1:00PM EST.  The winner of Lucy’s 2017 Holiday in NYC Raffle was Ticket #0338.  Congratulations to George W. of Ventnor, NJ for winning this year’s raffle, and thank you to everybody who participated!  It is only through your support that we are able […]

From all of the staff, volunteers, and Lucy the Elephant herself, we’d like to send a big elephant-sized ‘THANK YOU’ to everybody to was able to attend Lucy’s 136th Birthday Bash on Saturday, July 22, 2017.  We hope you had an elephantastic time!   A special thank you goes out to Margate Public Works, Casel’s […]

Online Ticket sales for this raffle is now closed. All of the staff and volunteers at Lucy the Elephant would like to extend an elephant-sized thank you to everybody who participated in Lucy’s Holiday in NYC Raffle!  It’s only through your support that we are able to continue to preserve Lucy the Elephant for future […]

Centered around the 2016 election, the Save Lucy Committee celebrates Lucy’s 135th Birthday Party with the theme “Lucy for President”.

From all of the staff, volunteers, and Lucy the Elephant herself, we’d like to send a big elephant-sized ‘THANK YOU’ to everybody to was able to attend Lucy’s 135th Birthday celebration.  We hope you had an elephantastic time!  Based on your votes, we are proud to announce that Lucy has won the election!  Hundreds of […]

Lucy the Elephant is proud be hosting its first Big Smoke – Cigar & Whiskey Night event on Saturday, June 18, 2016 from 6:00pm-9:00pm with Honorary Chair, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian. Join us for a sampling of premium cigars, a tasting of fine scotches, bourbon, wine, and craft beer, along with small bites of […]

The Board of Trustees of Lucy the Elephant has decided to pass on a donation offer made by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Late last week, PETA reached out to Lucy offering to make a donation toward the current construction/painting project at the National Historic Landmark in exchange for allowing the iconic […]

In September 2015, Lucy the Elephant will get a facelift to keep her looking her very best.  At 134 years old, our beloved Lucy needs a new coat of paint to prevent rust and other factors from further deteriorating her “skin”.  One way you can help is by purchasing our Collectible Painting Fundraiser T-Shirt by […]

From all of the staff, volunteers, and Lucy the Elephant herself, we’d like to send a big elephant-sized ‘THANK YOU’ to everybody to was able to attend Lucy’s 134th Birthday celebration.  We hope you had an elephantastic time!  Don’t forget…  Lucy turns the big 1-3-5 next year and YOU are invited!  Thank you all again […]

EFFECTIVE: Wednesday, December 24th, 2014 Lucy’s Pack Your “TRUNK” Vacation Raffle has officially come to a close. Congratulations to our winners!!!!! Grand Prize Winner: Ticket #218 — Florence Walker of Galloway, NJ Second Prize Winner: Ticket #189 — Scott & Myriam Gruhler of EHT, NJ Thank you again to everybody who participated in the raffle!! […]

All us here at Lucy the Elephant are pleased and excited to announce the premiere of Jon Baker’s artwork with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception on Saturday, May 10, 2014 from 6:00pm – 8:30pm. Click on the video below to watch an interview with Artist Jon Baker. Tickets are $10 per person and can […]

Take a moment to watch this heart-warming video of CEO, Richard Helfant, telling LucyTV about receiving woman who remembered Lucy in a very special way.

What an elephantastic time!  Click on the image below to watch video coverage of the Light Up New Jersey event which took place here at Lucy on October 29, 2013.  A special thank you to everybody who helped make this event a success as we remember Hurricane Sandy which struck the Jersey Shore one year […]

Hurricane Sandy THE 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since the wrath of Hurricane Sandy hit the Jersey coast.  As we approach the one year anniversary of Sandy, we cannot help but reflect on the outpouring of strength and support that you have given to Lucy.  Your acts of kindness; […]

Author Steven Paul Winkelstein, best known for his Lucy the Elephant children’s book series, has just launched a campaign for an amazing project. His latest book, Brisko: A True Tale of Survival is a true story about one of the last living Holocaust Survivors. In the story, young Libe’s only hope is a dog named […]

No history such as this could have been completed without the help of many people and organizations, library reference departments, family scrapbooks and public documents. To those sincere folk and fans of Lucy who aided this endeavor we want to express gratitude for their interest and support. We would especially like to thank Mary Lafferty Garrison […]

The work accomplished with the $124,000 was sufficient to permit tours inside Lucy to begin again by summer of 1974. The committee members acted as guides. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held with the Mayor and Commissioners attending and press stories went out on the wire services. “LUCY THE MARGATE ELEPHANT OPEN FOR TOURS” The Committee again […]

Once Lucy was firmly anchored in her new location, repaying the loan for the move and financing the restoration became the next challenge of the Save Lucy Committee. The publicity of moving the giant Lucy went over the national and international wire services, creating a flow of donations to the Save Lucy Committee from worldwide good […]

The morning of July 20, 1970, was set as “moving day”. It looked like all obstacles had been removed and that the giant undertaking would proceed according to schedule. Then came a jolt that was not anticipated. Three days before the moving date the committee was served with a legal injunction to prevent the relocation of […]

The challenge of moving the Elephant was presented to the Civic Association and thus the Save Lucy Committee was formed. The house-moving firm of Mullen and Ranalli was hired to prepare the structure for the move at a cost of $9,000. Feriozzi & Sons, a local area concrete contractor, was hired to prepare an especially designed […]

In 1969, Edwin T. Carpenter and a group of Margate citizens formed the Margate Civic Association. One purpose of the Association was to find a way to save the decaying old Elephant landmark from demolition, as a developer was negotiating the purchase of the land upon which Lucy stood. The City of Margate owned a piece […]

John Gertzen died in 1916, leaving Sophia with two young children to raise and support. To add to the family income, she began a tourist camp which was to become so popular that it required 40 tents to satisfy the demand. Others began to copy Sophia’s successful venture until a “Tent City” arose along the waterfront. The […]

The Turkish Pavilion, constructed in 1876 for the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park, had attracted Anthony Gertzen’s eye and when it became available after the close of the fair, he purchased the building, had it disassembled into numbered sections and moved to Margate, where it was carefully restored and reconstructed behind the famous […]

Lucy the Elephant is one of three such structures designed by James V. Lafferty. It is the only one still intact.   Lucy’s nearest relative was the Light of Asia, a 40-foot wooden Elephant built on land owned by the Neptune Land Company, near the beach in what is now the Borough of South Cape May. This […]

The Gertzens, who were to play a prominent part in the early history of both Lucy the Elephant and South Atlantic City (now Margate), were an interesting family. Anton Gertzen, the patriarch of the family, was born in 1823 in the German State of Prussia, which is now part of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1844 Anton […]

The outer islands of the Southern Jersey coast are romantically entwined with legends of pirate chieftains fighting battles to the death on sandy beaches, of buried treasure beneath every dune, of whalers rushing for boats when the cry of “Thar’ She Blows” echoed from lookout stations. Mysterious cargoes landed in the dead of night and were quickly […]

The Great Atlantic Hurricane in September 1944 caused major damage along the Jersey Shore.  The Turkish Pavilion which stood next to Lucy was destroyed, along with the Margate Boardwalk which was never rebuilt.  Lucy the Elephant was left virtually unscathed.

In 1929 a violent storm blew off Lucy’s howdah (the riding carriage on her back).  It was replaced with a less ornate howdah featuring a flat roof.  This “temporary” howdah was replaced with a replica of her original howdah during the early 1970’s during restoration.