The 7-foot-2-inch bronze statue of William Donald Schaefer that went up at Harborplace over the weekend bore little resemblance to Hampden's now-famous giant pink flamingo, but in spirit the two works are equally monuments to Baltimore's renaissance. When Mr. Schaefer first took office as mayor of Baltimore in 1971, the Inner Harbor was a collection of rat-infested, rotting wharfs and the working-class community of Hampden was a place outsiders rarely dared venture after dark. By the time Mr. Schaefer left the mayor's office for the governor's mansion in 1986 Harborplace had become a national showcase of urban revitalization and Hampden was sprouting trendy boutiques and art galleries heralding the onset of gentrification.
Mr. Schaefer never claimed that Harborplace was his idea, but he was perhaps more than anyone else responsible for making it such an extraordinary success. Who can forget his zany antics wearing an old-fashioned striped bathing suit in the seal pool to promote the opening of the National Aquarium in Baltimore in 1981? Or his famous "Do it now!" credo that kept city bureaucrats hopping to pick up strewn garbage and fix the potholes he spotted during his periodic jaunts through unprepossessing communities like Hampden? He was a combination of jovial Big Daddy and demanding Mr. Scrooge, and just unpredictable enough that you never quite knew which you were going to get on any given occasion. The one thing you could be sure of was that when Willie Don said, "Do it now!" things got done.
Over the years we've had our our share of disagreements with Mr. Schaefer, both as mayor and Maryland governor, over issues ranging from crime and municipal finances to housing and the parlous state of the city's schools. And we're generally leery of heaping laurels on living politicians by naming buildings and bridges after them or by casting their likenesses in bronze. But Mr. Schaefer truly was an exceptional politician by any measure who gave this city hope when it needed it most. By erecting his statute at Harborplace the city has recognized the crucial role he played in Baltimore's rebirth as a great American city, and we happily allow the honor should all be his.
