Lucy the Elephant, at age 141, gets a shower after a big facelift | Rolando's Roadside Roundup
Plus, drinking up the lore of buildings shaped like big cups and a neon dancing pig makes a move, those stories and more on today's tour of Americana
The beloved roadside attraction Lucy the Elephant, a treasure of Margate, New Jersey, got a shower today.
Dating to 1881, the gigantic elephant, billed as America’s oldest roadside novelty, recently received a new metal skin as part of a $2.3 million makeover.
My photos of Lucy from May 2020, before the renovation.
The blast of water the scaffold-covered Lucy received on Monday was designed to identify leaks in her new skin, which were indeed found around Lucy’s windows and skylight.
The leaks should be easy to fix, said Lucy’s boss, Richard Helfant, the site’s executive director. Whether Lucy will need a second shower before her big reveal — to confirm she’s now sealed tight — remains to be seen.
For 14-months, the National Historic Landmark has been hidden behind plastic wrapped scaffolding, as contractors worked to repair her 140-year old skin that was damaged by seaside conditions.
When workers first examined Lucy’s metal exterior, they found the wood framing was rotted more than expected from water leaks, bringing the planned $1.4 million renovation project to over $2.3 million.
Lucy’s skin was fully removed to repair the rotted wood, and then replaced with a new metal product called Monel, a rust-proof, nickel and copper-based metal.
In case you’re wondering how Lucy took a shower, Margate City firefighters doused her with a firehose from the top of a ladder.
Everyone hopes Lucy will be ready for her big reveal by mid-December, a lovely roadside Christmas gift if there ever was one. But should the patch job take longer, it probably won’t be till the new year when we see Lucy’s glowing new skin, just steps from the beach.
Listen to a recent interview with Helfant on WABC radio
Squealing (and dancing) with joy at celebration for iconic San Jose sign
San Jose’s Dancing Pig has been moved to a temporary home, and it was reason to boogie.
Admirers celebrated the classic sign for Stephen’s Meat Products with a relighting ceremony last week.
The sign shines for now at History Park, at 1650 Senter Road in San Jose, where it will stand until moving back to what will eventually be Google’s new Downtown West campus in this California city.
The meat business closed in 2007, leaving the pig alone but still very much beloved on what became a parking lot that will soon be part of Google’s new campus. [Preservation Action Council of San Jose]
More on the sign’s history at Roadarch.com and Roadside America.
Above is my photo of the pig from a visit to the Bay Area in February 2020.
Preservationist duo ‘want to keep the nostalgia of the roadside stand alive’
A new barbecue joint has opened at the site of a long-closed drive-in near Phillipsburg, New Jersey. [Map]
Drake’s Joint has found a welcoming home at the site of the old Sammy’s Drive-in, which closed in 2011. Co-owner Chris Sterlacci told WFMZ:
“We want to keep the nostalgia of the roadside stand alive," he said. "We want to be that spot where you swing by for a quick meal, knowing that it's made with really fresh ingredients in a fun and lively atmosphere."
Traditions from Sammy’s like the ice cream will also be making a comeback next year.
With the co-owner, Dan Risis, the duo will also be reviving the nearby and now-closed Toby’s Cup in Lopatcong Township, which I visited in 2019.
Per WFMZ:
Risis and Sterlacci are renovating the small, light blue structure, with plans to reopen Toby's Cup within the next few months. They plan to maintain much of the menu, which also includes burgers, cheesesteaks, and fries.
"We're excited to be reviving Toby's Cup, our next joint venture," Sterlacci said. "Dan's in real estate development. So, we're having a lot of fun bringing life back to some of these landmark restaurant spots."
I really enjoyed my visit to Toby’s in September 2019. [Map] Here’s the backstory, from my post three years ago:
The cars and trucks speed by Toby’s Cup on Route 22, the Pennsylvania border a short and toll-free drive away.
The vehicles swoosh by uncomfortably close to this Phillipsburg hot dog shack – you kind of worry for this funny little building’s well-being. But quite a number of those drivers know to slow down when they see Toby’s blinking Sputnik ball down the road, because they know that inside awaits a simple but delicious meal: A fried hot dog, perhaps enjoyed with a bag of chips and a soda or milkshake to wash it all down.
There are no French fries to go with your fried dog. You don’t miss those spuds. Now, you don’t eat your dogs inside – there’s just enough standing room for a few folks to put in their order.
Lines are known to reach out the door. Instead, you can savor your simple meal on the tables in the parking lot, or in your car if the weather is not cooperating.
Toby’s has been around since 1946 and is still in the same family– it began its life as Hugo’s. Nobody seems to know how the name Toby came along, but it stuck, Lehigh Valley Live explained not long ago.
The sputnik probably dates to the late 1950s or early 1960s. Everything about this place speaks of an America before strip malls and fast food, to a simple time when you had no idea just what might await you from town to town.
Toby’s looks like no other hot-dog stand I’ve seen. It gives you hope for more discoveries of quirky Americana on the road. Pint-sized Toby now looms large in my heart – and belly
Debra Jane Seltzer points out that Toby’s Cup may well be related to a series of other “Big Cup” structures that were built for Levengood Dairies of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in the early 1940s.
I’ve also been to these two former cups:
CD’s Place in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, complete with its straw still in the cup! [Map]
And this is the cute Speedie’s Dinette in Reading, Pennsylvania, which has sadly closed since I visited in 2019. [Map]
Notes From the Road
A wonderful profile of Marvin’s Corner Lunch in Worcester, Massachusetts. Above, my photo from 2019. [Telegram & Gazette]
You must visit “John Baeder: Looking Back 1972-2018,” on display at ACA Galleries in Manhattan through February 18. [ACA Galleries][The Daily Heller: John Baeder’s American Idols]
The last Radio Shack in Orlando — with an awesome vintage sign inside — is closing. [Click Orlando]
Hot of the presses: Buffalo’s iconic Anchor Bar is taking flight and bringing its wings to six other cities. [WKBW]
Exploring the ruins of Caribou ghost town in Colorado. [Insider]
Meet the young preservationists restoring historic buildings in Dubuque, Iowa. [Telegraph Herald]
A longtime Burger King in Syracuse, New York, region has closed. This was a vintage gem. [Subscription: Syracuse.com] [Map]
But we gain a new Burger King in Berks County, Pennsylvania. [WFMZ]
Home of the — Plant? Burger King in Portugal offers chain’s first vegan burger. [The Portugal News]
“McDonald’s adult happy meal mayhem shows America’s selfish need for nostalgia right now.” I’ll pick on the use of the word selfish here, but this a good read on McDonald’s October surprise: Its sudden embrace of nostalgia, and why the timing could not have been more brilliant. [Fortune Via Yahoo]
Below is my unboxing of a McDonald’s Happy Meal.
Speaking of which, the inventor of the Happy Meal says McDonald’s did not want it at first. [CNN]
The 87-year-old Club Pheasant closes in West Sacramento. [KCRA]
And more bad Bay Area news: Val’s Restaurant and Lounge in Daly City is done. [SF Gate]
Mental Floss examines the history of the diner. [Mental Floss]
A list of vintage diners in the St. Louis area. [Fox2 Now]
A visit to a few West Coast neon museums. [Cronkite News]
Wisconsin’s Delta Diner is on the market. [Ashland Daily Press]
Williams Uptown Pub & Peanut Bar, the oldest in that part of Minneapolis, closes. No more free spaghetti with that draft beer. [Star Tribune]