If you’re looking for a quick getaway and are a fan of unusual architecture and the Jersey Shore, it’s time to pack your bags (or, trunk). Lucy the Elephant, a six-story pachyderm-shaped structure located along the beach in Margate, NJ, is taking reservations.
Built in 1881, Lucy is older than the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower and is listed on the National Park Registry of Historical Landmarks. Originally dubbed Elephant Bazaar, Lucy the Elephant has served as a tavern, a summer residence, and hosted former United States President Woodrow Wilson, in addition to being one of the most famous creatures to inhabit the Jersey Shore.
The Save Lucy Committee recently announced that three Airbnb guests and their friends will have the chance to stay inside Lucy the Elephant, one of the first and few National Historic Landmarks offered on Airbnb.
Starting at noon on March 5, Lucy fans can book a stay inside Lucy’s storied walls. Scheduled for March 17, 18 or 19, each of the three one-night overnight stays is priced at $138, in honor of the number of years Lucy has served as a Jersey Shore icon. In addition to the overnight stay, the price includes dinner and breakfast at local restaurants, a bag from Lucy, and some other items from the greater Atlantic City area.
The Airbnb listing is a first, but it’s not the first time someone has lived in the beachfront pachyderm. In 1902, Lucy served as a summer vacation home for a doctor and his family from England. During their stay in 2020, modern guests will be transported back in time and experience how Lucy’s interior may have looked in the 1900s.
To celebrate this historic stay, Airbnb will make a donation to the Save Lucy Committee, supporting efforts to keep Lucy the Elephant standing “Jersey strong” for future generations to enjoy.
“The people staying in Lucy are going to become part of Lucy’s history, which is an amazing thing,” Save Lucy Committee Executive Director Richard Helfant told NJ Advance Media. “Not many people know that Lucy is not only a national landmark, but she is the oldest roadside attraction in the United States. She’s older than the Statue of Liberty and even older than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.”
The Airbnb listing does not mean that Lucy is going to become a full-time Jersey Shore summer house.
“It was never intended as a means to turn her into a guest house,” Helfant added. “It is strictly a marketing event for us to help spread the word beyond our local reach. That is not to say that down the road, if someone came to us with a proposal to do something, we would consider that proposal on its own merit. We are always looking at ways to grow Lucy and make her better and more popular. So whatever that would be, we would look at it and weigh in at that time.”
If you’re interested in spending a night inside this Jersey Shore icon, you can reserve Lucy beginning March 5 at 12:00 PM EST at airbnb.com/lucy.
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