March 18, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Lucy the Elephant will undergo interior renovations next year after securing funding through state and federal grants and hundreds of private donations.
Supporters of Lucy the Elephant, the 64-foot-tall historical landmark in Margate that's older than the Statue of Liberty, said they have received enough funding through state and federal grants and private donations to undergo critical repairs after the Trump administration threw a wrench in previously approved plans.
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Last year, the Save Lucy Committee had secured $800,000 for renovations through a $300,000 state grant and $500,000 from the National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures program. But last April, DOGE clawed back the federal money, leaving Lucy’s supporters with an uphill climb to fill in the funding gap.
"How do you have a contract, a promise from the government of the United States of America, and they default on it," Rich Helfant, executive director of the Save Lucy Committee, said at the time. "That's a pretty sad statement to make, but it happened."
After raising nearly $200,000 through hundreds of private donations, the longtime organization devoted to the upkeep of America’s oldest surviving roadside attraction announced this week that it was awarded $350,000 in federal funding after Sen. Cory Booker encouraged the group to reapply for the same grant that DOGE rescinded.
“Lucy the Elephant has been a part of my life since I was a kid visiting this incredible community, and she remains one of New Jersey’s most cherished landmarks,” Booker said in a statement. “Lucy is part of our heritage, and we should do everything we can to support and preserve it. I’m proud that this year’s federal budget includes funding to upgrade her interior and ensure she continues to inspire future generations.”
Helfant said renovations will start in the first quarter of next year, and the funds will be used to replace the 56-year-old HVAC system, refinish wooden floors, upgrade the fire suppression system and repair plaster walls, which have been damaged from years of water infiltration.
Through separate funding, the site is also planning an interpretive visitors center that is slated to begin construction this spring.
At 145 years old, Lucy is the last standing elephant-shaped structure built by Philadelphia real estate developer James Lafferty, who built two others in the 19th century.
Lucy supporters have saved her from near demolition in the 1960s by moving her to city-owned property, lobbied to designate her as a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and advocated for a $2.4 million restoration project that fit her with a new metal exterior in 2022.
“I cannot understate how grateful we are to [Booker] for his continued support of Lucy,” he said. “The fact that we are receiving federal funding shows that Lucy is not only important to the people of New Jersey, but she is important to the nation.”
