Fancying a new Miss Fancy at the park

There are a few sights that define Birmingham: Vulcan statue, Sloss Furnaces and most recently the Rotary Trail sign. Bryan Council wants to add one more from the city’s past: Miss Fancy.

Miss Fancy was an Indian elephant who lived in the Birmingham Zoo — where Avondale Park now stands — from 1913-34. A former circus elephant, Miss Fancy would participate in parades, perform tricks on command and was said to remember visitors who fed her treats. She was also known to wander the neighborhoods of Avondale, Woodlawn and Forest Park, either with or without her trainer.

“It’s hard to imagine an elephant that would get out and about and roam the street, but there are people alive today that will tell you that was true,” said Council, who grew up in Avondale.

The elephant was an icon of the city during her time, and a few reminders of her exist today, most notably in Avondale Brewery’s logo and the Fancy’s on Fifth restaurant. A small bronze statue of her was placed in Avondale Park during its revitalization in 2012, but Council said it was hit by a car and destroyed. This prompted his father, Ron, to begin a campaign for a life-sized, bronze statue, but he passed away early in the process.

Bryan Council decided to carry the campaign forward in his father’s honor. So far, the Save the Queen campaign has raised over $30,000, mostly from small individual donations. Council plans to bring the campaign to local businesses and corporations next to reach the full fundraising goal of $250,000.

It’s a steep price tag, but Council wants the statue to be sculpted by a local artist and to spray water from its trunk, so children can play under it in the summer. The piping and drainage make Miss Fancy more expensive.

There are still a few remnants of the former Birmingham Zoo in Avondale Park, but Council wants to place the bronze statue near the park entrance so it will be visible to people walking and driving on 41st Street South, and hopefully entice them to visit the park.

“There’s no centerpiece [currently at the park], so to speak,” Council said. “It’s another potential iconic image for Birmingham.”

If the Save the Queen campaign can clear the dual hurdles of reaching their fundraising goal and getting approved by the design review committee, Council said he hopes to return Miss Fancy to Avondale by the end of 2016.

“This is simply a public art project that needs to be supported by the community, not any one large donor. That’s my goal, at least, to have a bunch of donations from the neighborhood as well as commercial entities around the neighborhood,” Council said.

Learn more at queenofavondale.com.