Phoebe Has Flamingo Fanatics Flocking To Tampa International Airport

TAMPA, FL — With more than 37,000 people voting, Tampa International Airport's famous flamingo sculpture now has a name: Phoebe.

The giant pink flamingo sculpture, which is the centerpiece of the airport's main terminal, was completed by New York-based artist Matthew Mazzotta in September. And while Mazzotta titled the public artwork, "Home," the larger-than-life 21-foot-tall sculpture lacked a name, so the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which operates the airport, put out a call for suggestions, never expecting to receive an overwhelming 65,000 submissions.

The sheer volume of entries forced the panel of judges, made up of six aviation authority employees and Mazzotta, to extend the time needed to review the names by several weeks. After multiple meetings, deliberations and debates, they eventually whittled the choices down to three finalists in late December.

Cora was submitted by Glorianne P. "because the official name of the art piece is ‘Home," she noted. "We can expand on that and consider the phrase ‘Home is Where the Heart is.’ Cora is short for Corazon, which translates to heart in Spanish."

The name Finn was submitted by Braxton W., who said,"Finn the flamingo has the perfect ring to it. Every time I see a flamingo, it looks like they have fins on their feet that they forgot to take off. It always makes me laugh.”

And Phoebe was submitted by James Bryan M., who explained the name is “a play on Phoenicopterus, the flamingo’s scientific name. Phoebe is also a playful alliterative to flamingo and means brilliantly inquisitive. The overall ‘Home’ sculpture is literally brilliant and reveals the flamingo’s inquisitiveness as it hunts for food in the shallows.”

Guest experience representative Janet Zambito said, although choosing the finalists was a challenge, she was thrilled to be on the panel of judges.

“In my job, I’m often stationed at the information desk, right next to the flamingo,” said Zambito. “One of my primary responsibilities is giving tours of the airport, and a highlight — especially for kids — is seeing this piece. I was so honored to be a part of the process to give it a nickname.”

After narrowing the field to three finalists, the public was invited to cast votes on their favorite name between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2.

Phoebe received 16,122 votes with Cora coming in a close second with 14,341 votes and Finn finished in third place with 6,779 votes.

While the name Phoebe was submitted by multiple people, the panel of judges said they favored J. Bryan M.'s rationale for choosing the name Phoebe, and awarded him the prize package for selecting the winning name: four roundtrip tickets from Silver Airways and a VIP Experience package to Busch Gardens, including four single-day admission tickets, four All-Day-Dining passes, four Quick Queue Unlimited passes and preferred parking

J. Bryan M., 63, a retired educator, lives in Daytona Beach Shores but was born and raised in Florida and called Tampa home during his childhood.

“I went to elementary school in Tampa, just a mile down the road from Busch Gardens,” Bryan said. “My career has taken me all over the country, but I moved back to Florida recently. When I heard about this contest, I wanted to enter. After working in higher education for 40 years, I thought I would submit a name that tied back to the scientific name for a flamingo.”

From the concept to the construction, the 21-foot-tall pink flamingo sculpture was two years in the making.

Mazzotta said the flamingo's head, neck, legs and feet were designed to be as life-like as possible. He hand-sculpted each section of the flamingo at full scale and then cast them in a polyester resin and fiberglass composite.

While the immersive sculpture arrived at the airport in April, it took several more months for Mazzotta to assemble it, adding reflective tiles to give the illusion of the flamingo dipping its head beneath the surface of the water, attaching accent lighting to the ceiling, dappling the floor with hints of blue, orange, purple and white light that change throughout the day, and installing a ring of metal bumpers around each foot and head mimicking the rings of water rippling on the floor.

The bumpers also double as a tactile sign for the visually impaired, making the giant pink bird compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Visitors are encouraged to interact with and even touch the sculpture, taking selfies as they immerse themselves in the flamingo's habitat.

See related stories:

• 21-Foot-Tall Pink Flamingo Makes Its 'Home' At Tampa Airport
• Giant Flamingo Emerges From Floor Of Main Terminal Of Airport

Even before Mazzotta completed the $520,000 art installation, the giant pink bird was creating a buzz. Flamingo fanatics began flocking to the airport from around the country to see the unique sculpture.

Mazzotta's proposal for "Home" was among 734 public art proposals submitted from around the world. However, Chris Minner, executive vice president of marketing and communications at TPA and a member of the airport's public art committee, said the choice of the iconic Florida bird was a no-brainer.

"Tampa International Airport has always been a champion of public art as a way to welcome our visitors and give them a sense of wonder and whimsy when they arrive in our beautiful region," said Minner. "We’re certain that ‘Home’ will help create memories and inspire people of all ages who begin and end their travel journeys at TPA."

Getting into the spirit of Tampa International Airport's new mascot, airport shops have added flamingo-inspired offerings to their inventories.

Located across from the sculpture, the Shoppes at Bayshore has introduced a huge flock of flamingo-themed items from hats and shirts to purses and bangles, as well as quirky home goods and gifts. Handcrafted flamingo ornaments were all the rage during the holiday season and Brandon artist Susan Jordan of Humadorables by Susan, whose custom-designed purses fashioned from wooden Ybor City cigar boxes, couldn't resist adding flamingo-themed purses to her line of offerings featured at the airport.