Located in the heart of Oxford on University Avenue, Flamingo Apartments — a local landmark with a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 — stands out as an Art Deco gem.
Built in 1935, the two-story, nine-bay building designed by architect James T. Canizaro is believed to be the first reinforced concrete frame structure in Oxford, according to local Sanborn maps — a database that uses insurance maps by the Sanborn Map company.
Canizaro’s work on the Flamingo earned him future jobs in Oxford, including designing Oxford’s former modernist-style City Hall, which was eventually demolished. The Flamingo remains one of the few surviving examples of Canizaro’s work in Oxford.
The building has been owned by Phil Bailey since 1987.
Throughout Bailey’s ownership, the building has undergone many colorful transformations. When he first purchased Flamingo Apartments, the building was, as Bailey referred to it, “just a plain beige building.”
“I painted it electric blue,” Bailey said, referring to the original color inspired by the pastel blue buildings of South Beach, Fla. “It just felt more like that.”
When he first pitched his bold idea to city officials, it was met with resistance.
“I was talking to one of the aldermen and I said, ‘I’m going to take this (building) and paint it neon blue,” Bailey said. “He said, ‘No,’ and I said, ‘Hey man, watch this.’”
In 2001, Bailey “tamed it down a little bit” with a more muted shade of yellow. In recent years, Bailey took on the challenge of modernizing the building without losing its original charm.
“This place was in rough shape. So back in 2020, I said, ‘You know, we’re going to bring the Flamingo back,’” Bailey said. “We redid all new kitchen cabinets, redid the bathrooms, and then it just became the Flamingo.”
While well known amongst Oxford residents, the building peaked in fame when it became a filming location for the 1992 film “The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag,” a 1992 comedy film about a librarian who lies about committing a murder to get attention from her husband.
“When they came, they took over all of this, and you know it wasn’t like it was an Academy Award winner, but it certainly was a lot of fun for Oxford,” Bailey said.
Bailey said that many student residents have called the Flamingo home for many years.
“I’ve had students live here (from when they’re) sophomores and stay until they’re seniors, (and) some have even gone to graduate school (and stayed here),” Bailey said.
Tyler Noggle, a UM alumnus from Alpharetta, Ga., was a resident of the Flamingo Apartments during his sophomore year in 2023.
“What I enjoyed about the Flamingo was that it was really close to everything you could want. I felt like I was in the middle of everything,” Noggle said. “It’s really the people (that) make the Flamingo such a good spot.”
Last year, Bailey converted two of the four apartments into short-term rentals to allow for more flexibility in accommodating guests, especially during busy football game weekends. It also allows Bailey to keep the rent of the two-bedroom, one-bath units at a relatively low price.
As Oxford continues to grow and change, Bailey sees the Flamingo as a permanent part of the cityscape.
“The Flamingo will be here when I’m gone, that’s my hope,” Bailey said. “If we ever have a tornado, all you gotta do is go downstairs in the basement. It’s better than any storm shelter that we have in Oxford.”
