Vote For Lucy The Elephant For Best American Roadside Attraction
A classic Jersey shore icon is currently up for a national award. Vote for Lucy the Elephant for Best Roadside Attraction in America. What makes this even better is that the giant structure has just gone through a $2.4 million reconstruction and repair project.
That repair project was completed in 2022 and it restored Lucy’s stability and gave her a new outside shell, or “skin”. She’s been welcoming visitors ever since.
Lucy The Elephant, A Brief History
Elephants and the Jersey shore… a natural combination! Ok, well, not really. But did you know that Lucy the Elephant is the oldest roadside attraction in the whole country? It opened for the first time in 1881. At 143 years, the grey lady has made it through a few challenges. Originally, Lucy was part of a trio of giant elephants in Margate built by James Lafferty, a Philadelphia developer. She’s been saved from demolition a few times. In fact, the land Lucy stood upon was sold out from under her in 1970 and, thanks to fans who advocated for the big grey girl, she was moved to her new location.
Over the years Lucy the Elephant has been a home and a tavern! Now, she’s up for Best Roadside Attraction in the whole country so cast your vote for Lucy the Elephant.
How To Vote For Lucy the Elephant
The contest is being run by USA Today. It’s part o their Readers Choice awards for 2024. Click here for the info and ballot page. I get that I’m a little biased here but I don’t think the other roadside attractions stand a chance. Some of the other roadside attractions that Lucy the Elephant is up against include:
- Carhenge in Nebraska. It’s Stonehenge made out of old cars stood up on their noses. How exciting… Not.
- World’s Largest Ball of String. I thought that this was just a joke on the Simpsons, but it’s apparently real.
- The Pencil Sharpener Museum. BORING!
With competition like this, I think a vote for Lucy the Elephant is a vote for America! And elephants! And New Jersey! Let’s get this done! Voting is open until May 6th. They’ll announce the winner on May 15th.
While we’re celebrating all things Jersey shore, have a look at some of our pics from the Ocean County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We had a great time! Did you show up in our pictures?!