Santa Barbara Downtown Organization: Bronze the Unsightly

SANTA BARBARA, CA – In a novel, if likely controversial, approach to the issue of homeliness on State Street, Santa Barbara civic leaders and the merchant collective known as the Downtown Organization have proposed the bronzing of Santa Barbara’s less attractive citizens, particularly those who frequent the downtown shopping district. Taking its cue from the lifelike statuary that so enlivens public spaces in larger cities, the business group suggests such a move would “..turn a chronic downtown problem – that of unsightly locals – into an installation of exalting downtown art.” In a rare instance of public dissension, a City Council member who shall remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations broke with colleagues. “I understand the impulse, but I can’t help but feel it’s wrong to pour molten metal on the homely.”