Architectural Anomaly

[Mulboyne]

More photos here

The building pictured above was completed in 1900 and designed by one of the Meiji era's foremost architects, Tatsuzo Sone, who studied under Englishman Josiah Conder. It is on the corner of Harbour Road and Sakaemachi Dori in Kobe, not far from the JR station, and used to house the city's main branch of Mitsubishi Bank. There's one feature of the building, however, which wasn't in the original plans. Have a closer look at the photograph and you'll spot it. You'll also see the answer if you look through the gallery linked to above. Alternatively, just look at the next post.

[Mulboyne]

There it is on the corner:



And an even better view of the statue of Snoopy:



A plaque says it was put in place in 1979. Although the building was formerly a bank branch, it is now also known as Familiar Hall. Kobe children's clothing company Familiar bought the building and used it for many years as their head office. The company began selling Snoopy-branded goods under licence in 1970 which proved a great hit and so they erected the statue to commemorate the character's contribution to their success.

[Hamaki]

it's not even part of the architecture of the building, it's just a f-ing stone on the street.

[amdg]

I used to live pretty close to that building. Of particular note is that it's still standing even after the kobe earthquake, due to good design and building materials.