Lucy the Elephant is getting some work done.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Been wanting to tour Lucy the Elephant? It’s best to do it before Sept. 20, when Lucy, the 140-year-old National Historic Landmark that keeps a watchful eye on Margate beachgoers, will disappear from view behind weatherproof scaffolding for the largest restoration effort since she was saved from the wrecking ball in 1970. She will be hidden from view for about nine months as the Save Lucy Committee embarks on an effort to replace more than half of Lucy’s skin surface, which has deteriorated beyond repair, with new metal sheathing.
After careful analysis by Lucy’s restoration architect, Margaret Westfield of Westfield Architects and Preservation Consultants of Haddon Heights, and metallurgist Scott Kreilick of Kreilick Conservators, replacing her metal skin is more cost effective than trying to remove 50 years of paint and rust, they determined.
“This is an enormous financial undertaking” Save Lucy Committee Executive Director Richard Helfant said. “We are so fortunate to have been awarded a grant from the Preserve NJ Preservation Fund administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust. The cost of this project is estimated to be $1.4 million.”
The committee has applied for additional funds from the National Park Service Save America’s Treasures grant program, Helfant said.
The balance of funding needed to complete Lucy’s restoration will be raised by donations from the public, which can be made online at LucyTheElephant.org, or mailed to the Save Lucy Committee, Inc. non-profit organization at 1 Lucy Plaza, Margate, NJ 08401.
Helfant previously said windows, doors and Lucy’s howdah would be removed, her metal coating removed down to her wooden foundation, which is cedar, and her skin replaced with a new metal product, called Monel, a nickel and copper based metal that’s resistant to rust. Then, the windows and doors, which are fairly new, and her howdah would be reinstalled. The entire structure will be repainted and ready to open for the summer season in May 2022, when Lucy will celebrate her 141st birthday.
Additional work on the gift shop, historic trains station and park grounds is planned for the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023.
Lucy was moved in 1970 from Cedar Grove Avenue two blocks away to her current site on the Decatur Avenue beachfront park now named for the founder of the Save Lucy Committee, Josephine Harron. Since then, the world’s most famous 65-foot-tall pachyderm, which was slated for the wrecking ball, has undergone several rehabilitation projects to keep her presentable for visitors.
Lucy got her own address for her 139th birthday last year when the beach-block of Decatur Avenue was renamed, 1 Lucy Place.
The last day to tour Lucy will be Sunday, Sept. 19. She will be closed to the public the next day, but the Lucy Gift Shop will remain open during the project.
The restoration work will be done through the fall and winter months with a target completion date by Memorial Day weekend 2022.
Lucy’s schedule through Labor Day is 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6. Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7 until restoration begins, hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
For more information, see LucyTheElephant.org.
