She’s turned down the Bucs. Rejected the Valspar Championship. Even shot down hosting a happy couple’s nuptials between her legs.
It’s not a statement against the NFL or the PGA, and she’s not reticent to love. They’re just not in Phoebe’s — Tampa International Airport’s 21-ft-tall flamingo sculpture — rider… err artist’s vision, and residing at the airport comes with its own stipulations. The fluorescent, long-legged bird nested in the main terminal less than four years ago, but she’s grown into far and away one of Tampa’s biggest celebrities, on par with Mayor Jane, Denis Phillips, or former resident, Gronk.
“I cannot think of a comparable art installation in another airport in the United States … that draws the kind of attention and devotion that Phoebe has,” said Josh Gillin, Senior Manager of Communications at TPA.
Dreamed up by the artist Matthew Mazzotta, the towering sculpture of Florida’s new state bird greets the 30,000 to 50,000 folks passing through the airport every day. Many of whom stop for a quick snap every time they fly.
“Every single time you walk by the flamingo, every time somebody is taking a selfie or a picture or the kids are walking by in awe,”said Kelly Figley, TPA’s Public Art Program Administrator and Marketing Manager. “It’s heartwarming. Funny, yes at times, but also really heartwarming. People really are drawn to it.”
The art committee knew the decision to plop a giant pink bird in the middle of the main terminal would be bold, but “we had no idea how spectacular” it would be, said Figley.
“I think there probably may have been a sense of why would you put a 21-ft tall bird in the middle of your terminal. We certainly don’t get that now,” Gillin said.
The preternaturally tall bird has developed an intense fan base. Phoebe-related posts on TPA’s Instagram often bring in thousands of likes and hundreds of replies. The gift shops surrounding her perch sell Tommy Bahama shirts, compacts, shot glasses, pillows, crossbody purses, straw beach totes, postcards, figurines, massive prints, and even golf balls emblazoned with her likeness. She’s a meeting point. More than 37,000 people voted on her name.
And not unlike J. Lo, she’s known internationally in design circles, holding the 2023 CODAWorx Award for the Transportation category.
“People will fly into Tampa for the first time, and they will come looking for the flamingo, asking ‘Where is it?,’” Figley said.
Even though thousands pass through the main terminal and someone is always taking a selfie or full-body shot with Phoebe, she’s never been involved in a major crash. No one’s bumbled their motorized suitcase into the towering bird or cruised an airport buggy into her beak quite yet.
“Other than the occasional scuff from a tennis shoe or a piece of luggage, people have been careful and kind to Phoebe,” Figley said.
That’s not to say that the pride of the state’s second-biggest airport doesn’t require any upkeep. Like reasonable adults everywhere, Phoebe needs a little self-care, but it’s both less frequent and more involved than your typical nails, eyebrow threading, haircut routine — though you might’ve spotted the avian pedicure on your Instagram feed.
“One day, just before the holidays, I came around the corner and I noticed, ‘Oh my goodness, we need to clean the flamingo,’” Figley said.
So a cleaning crew traipsed in after the clock struck 10 p.m. — when TPA empties out — to douse Phoebe with warm, soapy water and dab her dry with a soft cloth. It’s a delicate process, so they don’t damage her shiny fiberglass skin.
However, when Figley returned the next day, Ms. Flamingo was still a little dull. The bird’s caretaker noticed a couple worn spots smaller than the size of pencil erasers around the sculpture’s feet — the highest traffic area — that needed a refresh.
While Tampa International keeps a couple of boxes of paint cans on hand for Phoebe touchups, repairs are entrusted to a company from Sparta, Wisconsin called FAST Fiberglass – kinda like how Kim K. flies in Mario for a full beat on a random Tuesday. One gentleman from the team made the trek down from the Midwest last month to patch the holes.
So, how does one repaint Tampa’s most famous bird? Carefully, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and by dotting their paintbrush into a standard plastic palette filled with black and pink paint. The job took about two and half nights.
But keeping the bird up to snuff is vital since there won’t be another 21-ft flamingo anywhere else in the world, at least not one as glamorous as our girl. Phoebe’s one of a kind. Really, it’s written in the artist’s contract, Figley explained.
The mold for the flamingo is in a boneyard in Sparta, Wisconsin, where Fast Fiberglass keeps relics of past projects out back behind their shop.
Phoebe apparently won’t ever get a biological sibling, but like Meg Ryan once said wistfully in “You’ve Got Mail” “there is the dream of someone else.” Some locals are gunning for a giant animal friend for TPA’s flamingo, said Gillin, the airport’s communications manager — flooding the airport’s comments and DMs with ideas.
“There is a distinct minority in that group that wants a roseate spoonbill,” he explained. “Because they think of a big pink bird that’s local. And you can see those all over the place. But then some people want a great blue heron — it’s requested a lot — and a snowy egret. Or an ibis. So basically any medium to large bird that you see around here all the time.”
And they might not just be flights of fancy.
Right now, the airport’s art committee is on the hunt for new major artwork to adorn Tampa International’s incoming Airside D. The airport has $5 million available for what could be the next Phoebe-level icon. But who could oust the queen?
