Dear HLC Commissioners:
Citizens Planning Association has a long history – since 1960 – admiring and watchful of our city’s character, the sometimes hard to define essence of what makes Santa Barbara, “SANTA BARBARA!”
Putting aside the obvious, the mountains-to-sea, it is Santa Barbara’s human-scaled architecture, especially those rare gems that make you stop and wonder, even marvel. Such is the Live Oak Dairy Building. The staff report has it right: it is definitely a “significant feature of the Milpas corridor.” A bit of whimsy in an otherwise commercial streetscape.
Rightly determined to be an official Historic Landmark, probably the first thing a passerby would see was the rooftop cow. Not just any plaster cow, the $1,000 the original building owners spent for “Old Bossy” would be $22,600+/- in today’s dollars. She spoke to the utility of the building, a dairy! And more recently, the dairy long gone, not just a peculiar ornament centered proudly, she attested to that history.
We are puzzled by the agenda’s reference to “Proposal to relocate the iconic cow statue, which is a character-defining feature.” “Iconic”. indeed! How can a sculpture so integral to the Landmark be relocated! We recommend that the “character-defining” sculpture be repaired or rebuilt and restored to her original location.
We recognize the threat of vandalism and would urge there be a placard on the building noting the historic character of the architecture -plus-integral statue and how it is emblematic of our shared history. Perhaps there would need to be an alarm and camera system installed. The games of the past were amusing but now’s the time to honor and respect Bossy and Milpas’s working class history. Maybe recommending that a reincarnated cow return to her rightful rooftop home might encourage a high school class in Santa Barbara architectural history. Milpas Street and area are changing; it would be good to retain a landmarked corner! Please let that be your Commission recommendation
Respectfully,
Mary Ellen Brooks
President of Citizens Planning Association