Artist Searching For Coney Island’s Elephant Hotel

The Elephant Colossus or the Elephant Hotel was a structure that stood in Coney Island from 1885- 1896. Architect James Lafferty, who also designed the still standing Lucy the Elephant in Margate City, New Jersey, created the astounding 125 ft. Elephant Colossus with 50 rooms, a cigar shop and red lights beaming out of it’s eyes.

According to Coney Island Tours founder Michael Quinn ” The Elephant Colossus was built a year before the Statue of Liberty, the structure probably would have been the first point of interest newly arriving immigrants would have laid eyes upon while traveling by boat to America before entering New York Harbor. Can you imagine the tired, poor huddled masses waking up searching for the “New Colossus,” the Statue of Liberty, instead astonishingly observing an enormous “Elephant Colossus” off the shore line of Coney Island? They must have thought that they purchased the wrong ticket or perhaps were entering a Republican country!”

The hotel became a brothel before burning to the ground in September of 1896. In fact the popular 19th century euphemism “seeing the elephant” a term meaning you were up to no good is thought to have derived from the intemperate activities which were commonplace at the hotel.

We recently spoke with painter, sculptor, sketch artist Montserrat Daubón who wants to create a painted image of Coney Island’s Elephant Colossus to add to her art gallery. Montserrat is looking for some clear and well defined images of the Elephant Colossus. She called upon the Coney Island Blog to help her find images of the Elephant Hotel better than the ones found through Google search.

Does anyone have images of the Elephant Colossus that they can share with Montserrat so she can begin her colossal masterpiece?

If you have any images of the Elephant Colossus worthy enough to be replicated in art please email us at TheConeyBlog@gmail.com 

Learn about the Elephant Colossus and much more with an hour and a half walking tour through the amusement district and boardwalk with Brooklyn native and historian Michael Quinn. Become an expert! Coney Island Tours was recently rated a top ten tour in all of NYC! Tours can be booked in advance for any day of the week and are given year round! Book your tour right now directly through Peek Mobile by clicking HERE.