Lucy the Elephant has officially been named America’s No. 1 Best Roadside Attraction by USA Today editors and readers for the second year in a row, besting nine other quirky cultural landmarks from every other corner of the country for the top honors.
“Thank you so much to everyone who shared information about the contest and took the time to vote,” said the nonprofit Save Lucy Committee, the longtime NJBIA member that operates the 6-story 90-ton tourism attraction. “We’re over the moon with excitement and gratitude.”
Lucy the Elephant, the nation’s oldest roadside attraction, was built in 1881 by a real estate developer as a gimmick to attract potential buyers for land he was selling south of Atlantic City. Visitors arrived by a train that stopped right at Lucy and were guided up 130 steps inside Lucy’s leg to the riding carriage, or howdah, on her back. There, buyers had a 360-degree view of the land for sale, which at that time consisted of dune grass, pine trees and a few fishing shacks.
Six years after Lucy was built, at a cost of $38,000 using over a million pieces of wood and 22 tons of tin sheeting, she was sold to a Philadelphia family. The elephant spent the first part of the 20th century as a restaurant, business office, cottage, and tavern. However, by the 1960s, Lucy had fallen into such disrepair she was set to be demolished.
The Margate Civic Association, which later became the Save Lucy Committee, moved the elephant about 100 yards to a city-owned parcel by the beach and embarked on an ambitious restoration project. Lucy reopened to the public again in 1974 and two years later was designated as a National Historic Landmark during the nation’s bicentennial.
Photos of USA Today’s 10 Best Roadside Attractions for 2025 can be found here. The rankings, released on May 14, include:
- Lucy the Elephant in Margate, New Jersey
- The “Wheat Jesus” billboard in Colby, Kansas
- The 24-foot tall Dalmatian Fire Hydrant in Beaumont, Texas
- The Easel Project, in Goodland, Kansas (an 80-foot easel holding a 24-by-32-foot reproduction of Van Gough’s painting of sunflowers)
- The Wall Drug Store Inc., in Wall, South Dakota (home to more than 300 original oil paintings of Western art and illustrations)
- Dinosaur Gardens in Ossineke, Minnesota
- The Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, Louisiana
- Paul Bunyon and Babe the Ox in Bemidji, Minnesota
- Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum in Logan, Ohio
- The 27,000 pound “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” in Cawker City, Kansas
