You can help Lucy the Elephant in Margate, NJ, win the title of Best Roadside Attraction in the nation by USA Today. NBC10 Jersey Shore bureau reporter Ted Greenberg has the details.
A historic and beloved attraction at the Jersey Shore is getting some new attention far beyond her beachfront home.
Lucy the Elephant is competing for the title of Best Roadside Attraction in the United States and you can help her get there.
You will likely do a double-take driving by if you've never seen Lucy the Elephant in person in Margate, New Jersey.
"Just the significance of her size," Pat Hendricks of Tansboro, New Jersey, said. "It's so much different than viewing her on TV."
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The nearly 143-year-old giant beachfront pachyderm is in the running for Best Roadside Attraction in the nation in a USA Today "10 Best" online poll.
"It's really exciting to be listed with all those other sites," Lucy the Elephant executive director Richard Helfant told NBC10.
She's competing against 18 other quirky, eye-catching landmarks including a huge dalmatian fire hydrant in Texas and a sculpture called "Carhenge" in Nebraska as well as a towering Van Gogh inspired painting and easel in Kansas.
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“I looked at the whole list. There's nothing quite like Lucy," Helfant said.
The beloved Jersey Shore icon and national historic landmark stands six stories high and houses a museum.
Her marketing team is pushing hard to get her as many votes as possible in the survey.
As of Thursday morning, Lucy was at the top of the leaderboard.
“What I recently saw, I think she ranks number one," Hendricks said. "Just look at her. That says it all.”
The non-profit that runs Lucy hopes this attention will also help bring in donations as it gears up for the third phase of a major restoration project planned to start in September.
It'll focus on her interior and replace the old gift shop with a state-of-the-art welcome center.
“By being featured in USA Today, which is a national publication, it's huge. It's priceless publicity for us whether we win or not," Helfant explained.
You can vote once a day until Noon on May 6th by clicking here.
USA Today will announce the Top 10 List on May 15th.
Lucy the Elephant is already the country's oldest roadside attraction. Now, even though she never blinks, she's staring down the competition to be the best.
