Stock Photo of Lucy Elephant Windows

Lucy Elephant Windows
A 90-Ton Sculpture of Wood and Tin
More sculpture than carpentry, the construction of Lucy involved hand-shaping nearly a million pieces of wood to create the required intricate collection of curves and appropriate load supports for a 90-ton structure finished in 1882 with an outer sheath of hammered tin
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Lucy Elephant Windows Back Side
To fully appreciate Lafferty's feat, it's important to understand that in the 1880s, the idea of erecting a structure shaped like an animal was unheard of even as the new engineering techniques and technologies of a quickening industrial age made such complicated architectural projects theoretically possible.
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Lucy the Tin and Wood Elephant Margate New Jersey
Lucy's massive size is apparent in comparison to an adjacent two-story souvenir shop (above, center) and the beachfront "I Love Lucy" sandwich shop (above, left). She stands at the edge of the sand, looking out at the ocean. The photo above right shows the view from the "howdah," or ornate Indian riding carriage, on Lucy's back.
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Lucy the Elephant Window Margate New Jersey
Startling Concept: Animal-Shaped Building Atlantic City at that time was fast growing into a Victorian vacation metropolis centered around the Absecon Lighthouse, the landmark that was then the symbol of the seaside resort. Lafferty wanted to establish a similarly impressive landmark and sense of place for his own new development in "South Atlantic City." To gain the attention of the public and press, he chose what was then a startling concept: a building shaped like a gigantic animal.
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A national historic site as well as a unique example of the eccentric architecture of the late Victorian age, Lucy the Elephant is arguably the most beloved tourist attraction in the Atlantic City area. Located in the neighboring town of Margate, the 119-year-old elephant-shaped building has come to the brink of demoliton several times, only to be saved by outpourings of public protest and grass-roots fund-raising fervor.
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LUCY'S LIFE STORY - The result of an 1881 exercise in stuntmanship and land speculation, Lucy was created as the attention-getting centerpiece of James V. Lafferty's beach real estate sales venture. Lafferty, a brash, 25-year-old engineer and would-be entrepreneur, was backed by his family's wealth and driven by a vision for a new kind of real estate promotion that would lure prospects to the desolate stretch of sand dunes and scrub pine he hoped to sell as plots for vacation cottages.
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lucy the elephant margate nj Atlantic City
LUCY, THE ELEPHANT BUILDING Two Miles South of Atlantic City Made of wood and tin sheeting, Lucy towers over neighboring structures and enjoys a commanding view of the beach.
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Uploaded Aug 17, 2009
TakenAug 15, 2009
Viewed 231 times
License Standard / Extended License
Copyright scott dantis
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