Lucy the Elephant

Lucy is a building in the shape of an elephant in Margate City. It is the largest representation of an elephant on the world and a National Historic Landmark.

History

Lucy, who was called the Elephant Bazaar to 1900, was built in 1881 by James V. Lafferty. This followed with the unusual building the goal to pull tourists from Atlantic City to Margate. The wooden building on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and South Decatur is six stories high and can be seen from a distance of eight miles with the naked eye. The building was in its founding period considered so unusual that Lafferty received a patent that only seventeen years zusprach him the right to build zoomorphic building.

He took advantage of this privilege by, first built the Elephantine Colossus, who was also known as the Elephant Hotel on Coney Iceland. The Elephantine Colossus was about twice as big as Lucy. One of his feet contained a cigar shop in Hull Hotel rooms were housed and on the back there was a viewing platform. However, the Elephantine Colossus was destroyed in a fire in 1896.

1884, the year of the white elephant - war, built Lafferty The Light of Asia, another elephant -faceted building. It was in Cape May in New Jersey and was demolished before the turn of the century.

In the 1960s, Lucy was left to decay. In 1969, the Save Lucy Committee was formed by Edwin T. Carpenter. This group managed to restore Lucy and build again at a new location. 1976 Lucy received the status of National Historic Landmark.

Use

Lucy has been used in different ways over the years. She served as office buildings and office, as well as a restaurant and pub, which was closed during the time of Prohibition. In 1902, she was leased to an English family who used it as a sort of bath cabin.

Today it can be visited; is accessed via a spiral staircase in one of her hind legs in its interior. There exhibits are on display on the history of the building. The observation deck on the building offers views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Others

Lafferty was not the first person who came up with the idea to build a walk- elephants. Already in the 18th century Frenchman Charles Ribart planned to build a éléphant triomphal at the point stands today at the Arc de Triomphe. The éléphant triomphal would have to enter via a staircase under the belly and would have contained several rooms. Wastewater would have been disposed of in the trunk. Unlike Lafferty three Elefantenbauten would have worn the éléphant triomphal no open Houda on his back. Ribarts plans were rejected and never realized the project.

Buildings in animal form are sometimes built to accommodate museums and similar institutions. It is represented in Knies Children's Zoo in Rapperswil an accessible whale in the aquarium of the zoo are housed. The Universum Bremen is also reminiscent of a whale or a giant clam.

The Erawan Museum in Samut Prakan in Thailand is crowned by a walk, 39 meters long mythical three-headed elephant made ​​of stone. In the Maximilian Park in Hamm, there is a plastic "Glass Elephant " with elevator and observation deck.