City Mouse
June 28, 2009

It is not very often that you can say Mickey Mouse and City Hall in the same sentence, without upsetting a few people. We just did. And we'll do it again, because we need to tell you that the Mickey Mouse shown in last week's Sunday Wednesday Where Is It (SWWII) picture is across the street from Santa Barbara City Hall.

Mickey sits on the roof above the Polar Bear Store at 726 Anacapa Street. The building is architecturally significant in that it has pressed tin in the front, and metal siding on the sides. The front is made to look like white bricks. It's kind of like the fake brick pattern on the Mission. Yes, really - ye Old Santa Barbara Mission. A couple of years back they painted the entire mission, then they applied mortar over the paint to make it look like real bricks. At Polar Bear, a sweet little used clothing store for kids, the illusion of brick is more obvious. After a good nap, your dreams will come true.

Friend of Ed, Neal Graffy, reports that the owner is an old friend of his. The owner told him that the building was built around 1916. It was used as the stable for the Diehl Grocery for a time. In the late 20's, it was Perry Brothers Plumbing and Mainland Heating. Later, it was R.J Carroll Plumbing. You can still see the name on the east side (as the compass points, not the streets) of the building.

Polar Bear - not to be confused the Country Bear Jamboree -- has been there twenty-six years. Mickey has been there for a long time, too.

El Barbareno, Tommy Noodleman, SBkettlebells, and Chuckstyle were the only Edhat subscribers who knew where Mickey could be found. The Edhat Dog was called in to break the tie. Four pieces of cheese were placed on the floor of the Edhat office, each assigned to one of the subscribers. The Dog entered the room running, spotted the cheese, looked over to make sure that it was intended for her, and then gobbled up the cheddar like it was her first meal after a long fast. SBkettlebells' cheese was the first to be eaten. He/she wins an Edhat t-shirt.

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