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Victorian Architectural Style and Lucy the Elephant

Bob meets with a Victorian designer to look at shingle styles and homes with scalloped, diamond and straight shingles. Then they move on to gingerbread style brackets and railings. Bob is looking for something Whimsical and exuberant. Bob visit the Architectural follies of the New Jersey shore (shaw) Bob stops by Lucy the Elephant, built in the 1880 of about 90 tons of wood and clad in tin. It highlights some of the Victorian era�s whimsy.
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Victorian Architectural Style and Lucy the Elephant

  computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Now this is the very proper Victorian isn't it."

" Yes and Bob but I wanted to show you the house because of the shingle pattern. You'll notice that it has a variety of single -- on the first floor. There are scallop shingles. Alternating with just straight shingle on the second level again. We've got a diamond shapes -- pattern scallop shingles and juror they fixed single delegate -- at -- and the out. The gable and we've got an entire -- single."

" Decoration which really works beautifully like the -- much bigger than -- but I like the way it's ornament at."

" it beautifully ornament at an even though -- yours is smaller. You can still -- a shingle pattern on it. And -- you you don't want to much decoration because Theres this small regular crown molding but I don't gingerbread on top."

" why concern gingerbread if you want it to grant."

" Bob I want to show you the tough because the porch posts are identical to the original -- yes they are except for the brackets. Well the bracket I thought you were a very graceful. And an example of bracket that would work really well on your house it's ginger -- that's for sure."

" Now how would you go about copying something like that one of the things you could do would be actually to knock on the door and act."

" If it's possible to do a terrific."

" I think good suggestion. And I turned derailing if we want to railing that we want something a little bit -- this."

" I'll -- then let's move onto the campground and now I'll show you something really beautiful."

" Well I thought you're going to show us spindles this is something else."

" No Bob although many Victorian cottages have spindles and turned -- that -- this is actually simply to make and creates just as an electric. Much more elaborate actually detail very elegant very. Pattern."

" Beautifully pattern yeah we're getting into gingerbread here though that the feeling is very Victorian like that."

" Victoria that the the most exuberant gingerbread attain any or on the island it so whimsical at."

" But I wanted to point out to you that it's possible to have something very temperate and whimsical and have a very simple window treatments. You'll notice over here. There's a very very plane went all actually formed out of ticket with a wood. Over two over two window so it's okay to make simplicity like that with this kind of ornamentation absolutely it's very traditional Victorian form the folly."

" It's a beautiful folic. But I want to show you the greatest of Victorian follies. Lucy the elephant let's watch."

" The victorians -- going to the beach and here in New Jersey they called at the shall. They also -- follies architectural follies and near the beach in New Jersey -- New York they've built follies par excellence to -- Elephants this is Lucy the elephant in Margate New Jersey she's one of three elephants that were built in the latter part of the nineteenth century she's the only one that survived the one at Coney Island. -- to the ground it was eighteen stories high -- used as a hotel for many years. The other winning Cape May, New Jersey was also dismantled and Lucy almost almost had a similar -- she was salvaged in 1970 and is now open to the public and on the national register of historic landmarks she was built in the 1880s -- a developer by the name of Lafferty who wanted to lure people out here to look at his -- he wanted to sell lots and market let's take a closer look at Lucy. She was built out of structural lumber and clad in about ninety tons of wood and tin. And that large platform on top -- is known as the hollowed out which is kind of an Indian saddle. We can actually climb up through whatever legs and take a look insider in my. There are actually two ways in the top. Through the port or star Robert hi delay that's stick start. Of course even inside an elephant you're apt to find beautiful Victorian beat him up. Here we look at -- structure Lucy's top. The ceiling if you will is like a barrel -- you can see all the original pieces of laminated -- woods some. Three or four -- Now the horizontal pieces -- to see here are structural steel which replaced the original twelve by twelve timbers long ago rot it. And they of course continue all the way to the front I keep trying to call at the -- the elephant that I don't think that's accurate here where the right under Lucy's head. And of course the instead of Lucy is an oddball collection of memorabilia. The tusk. The tongue. In all sorts of unusual things to look at. But perhaps the best thing to do is to go up top to the how to. Where we can get a beautiful view of the -- For over fifty years Lucy -- a tourist attraction run by the guards and family but after the 1960s you're tourists were coming and Lucy fell into disrepair it was the people here in the town of Margate who loved Lucy who raised over the years over half million dollars to preserve --"

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