One of the NJ shore’s iconic sites still not open

It's hard to explain to anyone from outside New Jersey what Lucy The Elephant is. In fact, it's even difficult to explain it to people not from the southern part of New Jersey.

Lucy the Elephant was built over 100 years ago as an advertising prop by a Philadelphia real estate developer to generate interest in property "down the shore."

It's been a tourist attraction that generations of South Jersey shore vacationers have enjoyed for years. It's gone through a few renovations and repairs over the years, but last year some real structural concerns were discovered on Lucy's sheet metal outer shell and emergency surgery was deemed necessary.

Lucy was scheduled to be reopened to the public over a month ago on the Memorial Day weekend. Weather, supply chain issues, increased costs and other factors have delayed the opening until sometime in late August. The gift shop is open and limited tours on the ground floor are available.

At that point, most of the summer will be gone, but you'll have plenty of time in the "shoulder season" to get a full tour inside Lucy The Elephant.

The big 141st birthday party that was scheduled for July 20 has been canceled

I'm sure you can find plenty of Lucy's birthday and regular memorabilia inside the gift shop which is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Have a great lunch, dinner or beachfront cocktail next door at Ventura's to ease the disappointment.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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