Oddball 6-foot 'Lobsta Mickey' statue returns to Boston
A long-forgotten, and somewhat unsettling, statue of Mickey Mouse with giant lobster claws for hands has found its way back to Boston
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A long-forgotten, and somewhat unsettling, statue of Mickey Mouse with giant lobster claws for hands has found its way back to Boston.
The 700-pound statue was last seen in the city nearly two decades ago at Quincy Market where it entertained tourists and shoppers — before slipping out of sight and into city lore after it was sold in 2005 at an auction organized by Disney.
In the interim, references to the 6-foot tall “Lobsta Mickey” appeared on Atlas Obscura, a website for oddball landmarks, and in a “Zippy the Pinhead” comic strip from 2019.
Still, the statue itself — one of 75 Mickey Mouse-inspired sculptures commissioned by Disney for the cartoon character’s 75th anniversary — remained elusive.
That’s until Deon Point, creative director for the Boston sneaker store Concepts, became fixated on tracking down the creation. Concepts collaborates with Nike on a line of lobster-themed sneakers.
Point told The Boston Globe that he spent five years following online threads before finally spotting a listing for the mouse/crustacean relic on eBay.
The statue had found its way to a New Jersey lawn, but was in need of some repairs. It was discolored, split in sections and its concrete foundation had begun to crumble.
Point hired a local artist to refurbish and repaint the statue.
The day before Halloween, "Lobsta Mickey” made its second public debut in the city, when it was set up on Concepts’ Newbury Street showroom floor.
“People were a little terrified,” Point told the Globe, referring of the customer response. “People think we created this thing, which, of course, we didn’t.”
Point said he plans to keep “Lobsta Mickey” on display through the holidays, before finding a new, long-term home somewhere within Boston.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.