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May 4, 2015 by tomdalzell

(Mostly) Plastic Flamingo Statues

Mader

Flamingos Philadlephia zoo

I first saw a pink flamingo at the Philadelphia zoo in the late 1950s.  Before that I had a sense of what a flamingo was from Alice in Wonderland, but that is kind of a stretch.

I don’t know when I first saw a plastic pink flamingo on a lawn.

flo-FLAMINGO5-legend-1

Don Featherstone designed the plastic pink flamingo in 1957.  He was working for Union Products at the time.  It is an undeniable icon of American pop culture, the genesis of the lawn greeting industry.  It is the prototype of lawn kitsch.

I have posted on garden gnomes, and so the frontier of lawn greeting art has been breached. Let’s check out the (mostly) plastic flamingo statues of Berkeley, starting with the two best:

Marin-Cicle-9131

 

2715 Benvenue.  Photo: Cindy Johnson

2715 Benvenue. Photo: Cindy Johnson

There are several flamingo sculptures that are not plastic, but which clearly evoke the plastic flamingo.

2669 Le Conte

2669 Le Conte

446 Kentucky

446 Kentucky

1646 5th

1646 5th

And then – let’s bring on the plastic lawn art:

1729 Madera Street.  Photo: Colleen Neff

1729 Madera Street. Photo: Colleen Neff

2580 Hilgard

2580 Hilgard

931 Modoc

931 Modoc

1047 Sierra

1047 Sierra

1107 Colusa

1107 Colusa

1338 Albina

1338 Albina

1354 Carlotte

1354 Carlotte

1401 Channing

1401 Channing

1429 Nielson

1429 Nielson

1521 Oregon

1563 San Lorenzo

1563 San Lorenzo

1632 62nd

1632 62nd

2024 Parker

2024 Parker

2131 Oregon

2131 Oregon

2139 Sacramento

2139 Sacramento

2324 Grant

2324 Grant

I showed my friend the photos.  Before he commented, he had a spelling question. “I notice that you avoided the plural of flamingo. Is it flamingos or flamingoes.”  I turned it back on him – “What do you think.”

Well, he had consulted with Gabby and had proof of “flamingos.”

os Tropical os Hialeah os Florida os Sarasotaoes Hialeah

“Well, that should settle it, no?”

“No.”  He also had proof of “flamingoes.”

oes Everglades

OES Hialeah

Gabby didn’t settle it.  We consulted the Oxford English Dictionary.  Both spellings are attested.  So – no right answer.  By the way – same thing with tornado in the plural.

That settled, I was anxious for his opinion of the photos.

IMG_3677

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