In the works since 2014, a 35 ft. tall pig weathervane sculpture has been installed in Pigtown. The sculpture, which was designed and fabricated by Pigtown resident and sculptor Rodney Carroll, sits at the entrance to Carroll Park at Bayard St. and Washington Blvd.
The sculpture, which is made of bronze and stainless steel, has three large curved poles. One of the poles reads “Pigtown” and has a bronze pig on top of a rotating arrow. Below it are the letters N, S, E, and W to signify the direction of the wind. Another pole has two stainless steel Maryland flags and two stainless steel Baltimore flags that rotate with the wind. The third pole is bare.
The sculpture was fabricated at Carroll’s studio in Pigtown.
Carroll has been working on getting a piece like this installed in Pigtown since the 1990s. He worked with the community to submit the design for the PNC Transformative Art Grant in 2014. The grant application was submitted for the location of Washington Blvd. and MLK Blvd.
This first intersection off of I-395, which has a stoplight, would have been a highly-visible spot for the sculpture. “Thousands would’ve seen it each day and everyone could look and see which way the wind is blowing,” said Carroll. “It would’ve been a great identifier for the city.”
He envisioned meteorologists doing their live shots from there.
But, after years of trying, the MLK Blvd. and Washington Blvd. site didn’t pan out for the sculpture. The sculpture has a five-foot foundation and underground utilities and finding the right location created a challenge.
Carroll, Pigtown Main Street, and the Pigtown community looked at different sites before deciding on the Carroll Park site. Then the team had to work with the City and Baltimore City Recreation & Parks to get the site approved.
Carroll is excited to see the piece installed, but says the site needs work to “satisfy the spirit of the PNC Grant.”
He says the trees blocking the view and wind to the sculpture need to be removed and he’d like to see it transformed into a brick-paved plaza around the sculpture. He noted there is a lot of signage at the entrance that should be removed. There are jersey walls protecting the sculpture, but boulders and benches are eyed to replace them.
“It would be wonderful to see that come through,” he said, adding it would be a “more formal area to serve the community.”
Carroll has been a resident of Pigtown since 1987 and previously transformed a vacant city lot at W. Cross and Ramsay St. that he said was a haven for “illegal dumping” into a sculpture garden. Other local sculptures he created include a “firebird” in front of the Symphony Center, and the Governor Schaefer stature at the Inner Harbor. He has completed many other sculptures in different cities as well.
Carroll hopes he can contribute more art in Pigtown. “There’s always room for sculptures here,” he said.
