But is it plywood? Being a patron...

But is it plywood? Being a patron of the arts isn’t easy, as Maguire Thomas Partners can attest. The company recently was forced to remove a $30,000 sculpture of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck from its Colorado Place development in Santa Monica after Disney threatened to sue.

That’s just the latest problem.

Last summer, some bronze crabs disappeared from the base of a controversial Robert Graham sculpture of a nude African woman at another Maguire Thomas development. The case is still unsolved even though the site, the Bunker Hill Steps, is patrolled by cameras 24 hours a day.

Finally, a promised painting by David Hockney in the lobby of Maguire Thomas’ First Interstate Bank Tower has yet to appear more than two years after its scheduled debut. The artist reportedly clashed with Maguire Thomas over the content of his initial offering.

So, for now, a plywood grid sits on the wall where Hockney’s work should be.

Minimalist art, at best.

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List of the Day: Sure, Bill Clinton visited the Glendale Galleria, but big things happen all the time at local malls. Just a year ago, the same Glendale Galleria hosted an Odor-Eaters Hall of Fumes during the L.A. Rotten Sneakers Contest.

Other malls have had their moments, including these:

* Westside Pavilion: Several Elvis imitators, including El Vez and a pre-pubescent King, showed up to autograph a book on the subject.

* Sherman Oaks Galleria: Famed as the original Valley Girl gathering spot, as well as the site of the filming of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

* Puente Hills Mall: Home of the City of Industry’s Great Snail Race.

* Beverly Center: The setting for the movie, “Scenes From a Mall,” though only exterior shots were made there.

* Lakewood Center Mall: Once hosted the World’s Best Shopper competition, involving 29 contestants (three of them men). The winner was Debbie Reynolds, an Ohio housewife.

* Olde Towne Mall, Torrance: Visited by Traveling Elvis Museum, which displayed everything from the King’s guns to his undies. He never showed, though.

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Thank goodness it’s not etched in stone: If the sign painter for the First Civic Center project has a sore arm by now, it’s understandable.

The project has been in the works across the street from City Hall for so many years that the names of the politicos listed on its billboards have been blotted out several times to reflect the fact that Pete Wilson is now governor, Gloria Molina is a county supervisor and Rita Walters is a member of the City Council. A lot of editing. Still, it would be nice if the billboards referred to Walters as a city councilwoman .

More work is ahead, incidentally. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn’s name will be replaced by a real spell-binder: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. And Tom Bradley will be rubbed out next year. We suspect the sign painter is thankful that, so far, Zev Yaroslavsky hasn’t entered the mayoral race.

miscelLAny:

The Thomas Street Guide lists an L.A. street that’s even shorter than Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way, that 2-block-long, downtown mouthful. It’s San Diego Way, which is zero blocks long (see photo). Just south of Wilshire Boulevard, it retains its impressive-looking street sign even though it was transformed into a mere walkway years ago.