Traffic Circles and New Jersey

The nation's first traffic circle, Airport Circle, was built in
Pennsauken, Camden County, in 1925 - 1926. Over the next
fifteen years, approximately 75 circles were built throughout
New Jersey.

New Jersey's highway engineers experimented with circles, clover-
leafs, and a variety of other intersection designs to improve
traffic flow in the late 1920s and 1930s.

In the late 1970s it was recognized that dramatic increases in
traffic volume at some circles made it necessary to redesign them.

Of all the traffic circles in New Jersey none is more renowned
than the one in Cresskill. It is at the intersection of
Knickerbocker Road and Madison Ave. (on Route 501). The Circle
embraces the 65 foot obelisk that was dedicated in 1924 as a national
symbol and recognizes the contributions made by the 563 men and
women that lost their lives while serving their country at
Camp Merritt during World War I.


This Monument marks the center of Camp Merritt
and faces the highway over which more than a million
American soldiers passed on their way to and from
France during the World War, 1914 - 1918.

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ROADSIDE NEW JERSEY

LUCY THE ELEPHANT, Margate, N.J.
Lucy is the world's largest elephant, and the only one in America
designated as a National Historic Landmark. She was built in 1881 by
James V. Lafferty, a real esate developer with a knack for
promotion. Standing six stories tall, weighing 90 tons, covered
with 12,000 square feet of sheet metal, Lucy was more than an object
of awe - she was a functioning building, serving first as a hotel,
than a tavern. She also gave people a reason to come to Margate City

Lucy proved very useful. Jim Lafferty made money and went on to
build other, even larger elephants in Cape May and Coney
Island. Sadly, only Lucy has survived.