Did You Know The Pink Lawn Flamingo Was Invented by a Massachusetts Man?

When it comes to lawn decor, there are two stand-alone icons - the lawn gnome and the pink plastic flamingo. Both are staple pieces. Both can be argued as "ironic," "tacky," or even "retro."

But long before the plastic, pink flamingos were labeled vintage and/or tacky to put on your front lawn, they were the bees' knees. Okay, too far - but they were really popular.

READ MORE: There Were Actual Flamingos on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and it Looked Like the Bahamas 

The pink lawn flamingo has had quite a journey from being popular to hated, and now it is an iconic piece of US lawn history. That journey all started in Massachusetts nearly 70 years ago.

Massachusetts Inventions, the Lawn Flamingo Origin 

According to various sites, including Wikipedia, the New York Times, and a Mental Floss article, the lawn flamingo was invented by a man named Don Featherstone in Leominster, Massachusetts.

Featherstone was working out of Leominster for Union Products, which made three-dimensional lawn ornaments. In 1957, on his second assignment, Featherstone created the iconic lawn flamingo.

READ MORE: These are the Best Inventions to Come Out of Every New England State

During the crafting of the flamingo, Featherstone used a National Geographic photo spread as inspiration - there were no Google images after all. After creation, the pink flamingo lawn ornament could be purchased for $2.76 a pair. Today, a pair of flamingos from Target goes for about $10.

So every time you drive by a house with a plastic pink flamingo on the lawn, whether you are in California or another country altogether, remember where it was started.

Whether you love or hate the lawn flamingos, they are a fun piece of our local history.