Lucy Turns 145: A South Jersey Day-Trip Guide

She has stood on that stretch of sand longer than the boardwalk, longer than the grand hotels that came and went, longer than the great-grandparents of most of the people who’ll be lining up to hug her this weekend. And on Saturday, Lucy the Elephant — six stories of tin and wood and pure South Jersey stubbornness — turns 145 years old.

If you’ve never made the drive down to see her, this is the weekend to fix that.

Three birthdays in one

Lucy’s birthday party runs Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Atlantic Avenue, and this year the celebration carries a little extra weight, because the town isn’t marking one milestone but three. There’s the 145th birthday itself. There’s the 50th anniversary of Lucy being named a National Historic Landmark — a designation that, half a century ago, rescued her from the wrecking ball and turned a roadside oddity into a protected piece of American history. And there’s the country’s own 250th birthday, folded in for good measure.

Fittingly, it’s all going red, white and blue. Organizers have leaned into the patriotic theme with a lineup built for kids and the young-at-heart: a 22-foot double-lane Stars & Stripes water slide, a “fire dog” belly bounce, a carnival smash, and a money-grab machine that will, I promise you, produce more shrieking laughter than any ride costs. The Lucy Express trackless train will be making its loops, and the food is exactly what shore food ought to be — hot dogs, French fries, Philly-style hot pretzels, and cones and sodas dyed to match the theme.

She isn’t a statue you photograph from the curb. She’s a building — and you can go inside her.Max Cedar

Yes, you can go inside

Here’s the part I always tell first-timers, because it’s the part people don’t expect: you can go inside her. You climb a spiral staircase up through her leg, stand in the great room inside her belly, and — if you make it all the way up — look out over the Atlantic from the little carriage on her back. There is nothing else like it, not in New Jersey, not anywhere. She was built in 1881 as a real-estate gimmick to lure buyers to the beach, and 145 years later the gimmick has outlived every last one of the deals it was meant to close.

Plan around the traffic

A quick word for the practical among you: if you’re driving down, plan around the traffic. Atlantic Avenue will be closed to eastbound traffic from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m. Saturday, so give yourself a little extra time, park with patience, and consider it part of the shore-day ritual. Nobody ever regretted the walk.

What gets me about Lucy isn’t her size, or her age, or even the improbable fact that she’s still standing. It’s what she represents for a region that doesn’t always get credit for holding onto its history. Somebody, in every generation, decided she was worth saving. This weekend, thousands of families will show up to prove those people right — kids on the water slide, grandparents on the bench, everybody a little sunburned and a little delighted.

Happy birthday, Lucy. Save us a spot on the sand.

Got a favorite Lucy memory? Share it with us — and if you’re making the trip Saturday, tell us how the party was.

Based on reporting from Shore Local Newsmagazine, the Press of Atlantic City, and Lucy the Elephant.