By Gail Marsh
I absolutely love roadside attractions! Yes, they can be quirky and silly, but they faithfully do their job. In wind, rain, snow, or incessant heat, the roadside attractions stand tall and proud, ever ready to catch the attention of passersby, encouraging them to stop and take a closer look.
My hometown
My hometown sits right off Interstate 44. Because it’s only 40 minutes from St. Louis, Missouri, we’re considered a “bedroom community.” That’s because most of the 7,000 nice folks who live in Pacific drive into St. Louis for work. Local businesses work tirelessly to coax visitors to stop, shop, and eat in our little town.
Bigfoot fame
A few years ago, Pacific cleared a splotch of land adjacent to I-44. They worked the clearing to form a small hill and then installed a Bigfoot monster truck atop the hill. Why? The Bigfoot phenomenon originated and still resides in Pacific, and now we have a roadside attraction to prove it!
Oldest roadside attraction?
Bigfoot is by no means the oldest roadside attraction. The monster truck idea originated in the 1980s and the oversized trucks have been wowing crowds and crushing cars ever since. That’s impressive, but certainly not historic. In fact, the oldest roadside attraction was built about one hundred years before Bigfoot existed.
Lucy
In 1881, land developer James V. Lafferty, Jr. decided he needed something big that would draw prospective buyers to his New Jersey properties. Lafferty hired architect William Free to build a gigantic elephant, and the result? Lucy, The Greatest Elephant.
Lucy did her job. Lafferty’s properties sold and through the years the six-story-high elephant has been purchased and resold several times.
During her long lifetime, Lucy has served as a private summer home, tavern, rooming house, café, and hotel. She’s been renovated, relocated, and dedicated as a historical landmark.
Tour Lucy
Today, visitors to Margate City, New Jersey, can tour Lucy’s interior. Here’s a video of what you can expect to see.
Have you visited Lucy, the oldest roadside attraction? What’s your favorite roadside attraction? Tell me in the comments below.
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Somewhere, I have a picture of my Mom and me (as a young boy, maybe 2 or 3) in front of Lucy. I am now 69 so, lots of years ago! Now I have to look for it.
Plymouth Rock is Oldest roadside attraction boys & girls – put it on ur list, ps it’s a phony con job ..
Thank you, Gail! 🙂 Roadside attractions must be convenient to a rig with a total length of 56 feet and no ability to back up. Generally, we don’t visit any unless it is in the towed vehicle. Thanks again and safe travels! 🙂
I thought I recognized Lucy in the main article but when the caption said “he” figured there must be another. Hopefully just a typo, for Lucy’s sake.
Visited the largest ball of twine in Corker, KS and found out that there’s a dispute even about that. But will return one day and add to it with the proper twine.
My husband grew up spending his summers on the Jersey shore, so took me to see Lucy about 30 years ago when we were visiting his Mom, long before they started charging for tours! Fun to see all the new renovations though. We love visiting “roadside attractions” and always look for them, even have an app to find fun and unique ones wherever we travel, it adds fun to our adventures!