HAMPDEN, Md. — Randall Gornowich is the man behind the massive pink flamingo that once stood outside Hampden's Cafe Hon, helping make the cafe a Baltimore landmark.
When thecafe closed, the flamingo went down with it. Now, the local artist and photographer hopes it can rise again.
Gornowich has launched a campaign to "Give Baltimore the Bird" - more specifically, a "Flamingosaurus" statue for Hampden's Roosevelt Park.
It would be a huge, pink flamingo sculpture - the same size as the Cafe Hon one - but surrounded by the silhouette of a more ferocious animal: a tyrannosaurus. The silhouette would have a channel inside with LED lights that will glow at night, Gornowich explained.
He's driven by a personal mission, because he felt so connected to the fiberglass flamingo that was on The Avenue for so many years.
Gornowich said:
It was sad when it came down. It was very, very sad for me. I mean, it had been up for 20 years. how does that happen?
The flamingosaurus would also stand about 42 feet in the air. It would cost about $91,000 to build.
Gornowich is trying to get a state arts grant, and just missed this year's deadline because he didn't know he needed a financial sponsor, plus a letter of support from the city.
He's hoping to get the grant for 2025 and build the sculpture for 2026. (Gornowich noted Roosevelt Recreation Center is about to undergo renovations as well.)
Ultimately, the Cafe Hon flamingo "did really resonate with Baltimore" and beyond, he noted. "It helped put Hampden on the map."
The idea of the flamingosaurus "embraces Baltimore kitsch. I love that the flamingosaurus itself is more about diversity, old and new coming together, strength, grace, goofiness and ferociousness."
His online campaign is called "Give Baltimore the Bird."
With the flamingosaurus proposal, and the Baltimore Hon Hive making plans for a new festival to replace HonFest, the spirit of 1950s-era kitsch seems destined to stay in Hampden.
