Lucy is an elephant-shaped building. Seriously, people used to walk inside her to rent rooms and buy souvenirs. She’s like a tiny, wacky apartment building, but shaped like a pachyderm.
Think of her as the granddaddy of all roadside attractions. Before the internet, before Disney World, there was Lucy.
Why Was She Built?
You’re probably wondering: Why an elephant? The answer is refreshingly ridiculous. A real estate developer named James Lafferty wanted to sell land in South Atlantic City. What better way to grab attention than a building that looks like a giant animal?
It worked. People flocked to see Lucy, and she became a symbol of weird American optimism. She’s basically the original “whoa, look at that!” moment on the Jersey Shore.
