For 134 years Lucy the Elephant has served as a bar, real estate office and museum. Today the six-story structure, located along the beach in Margate’s Josephine Harron Park, is a national historical landmark and remains a popular Jersey Shore tourist attraction.
Yet times have been hard for Lucy over the past few years. Her skin is stained with rust and the railings on the carriage on Lucy’s back are disintegrating.
“Right now Lucy is in pretty rough shape,” said Jeremy Bingaman, the Lucy the Elephant education director. "The wood is just falling apart from the inside. “
Crews began repairing Lucy a few days ago. Yet while they initially believed she’d need a $20,000 paint job, a closer look revealed the bill would be closer to $50,000.
“As they got in there and started exploring there was more damage than what we expected,” Bingaman said.
Officials still need to raise at least $35,000 and are selling $20 t-shirts to help cover the costs.
“We’ve got quite a ways to go still,’ Bingaman said.
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