Columbia, South Carolina: Car Wash Tribute to Happy the Tiger
At one time a real tiger lived at this car wash. She's been dead for a while, but the car wash keeps her memory alive.- Address:
- 1950 Gervais St., Columbia, SC
- Directions:
- At Constan Car Wash. East side of downtown, on the south side of US Hwy 76/ Gervais St., just west of Harden St. and the train tracks.
- Hours:
- M-Sa 8 am - 6 pm. (Call to verify)
- Phone:
- 803-799-1315
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Exxon Mobil's local mascot Happy the Tiger has two walls dedicated to her. She lived from 1964 to 1979, born in Chicago and brought to live in Columbia, SC that same year, transportation provided by Marlin Perkins of TV's Wild Kingdom. She was one of the first animals purchased for Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. She was exhibited at the Gervais Street car wash, Richland Mall Exxon and various parades and festivals.
Her biography and pictures are at the Constan Car wash on Gervais Street.
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Happy was purchased as a cub by O. Stanley Smith, who owned a car wash and Esso gas station in Columbia. He hoped that the tiger would inspire the city to build a zoo (And it didn't hurt that Esso's corporate slogan at the time was "Put a tiger in your tank"). For the next ten years Happy lived at the car wash, in a special cage, until the zoo finally opened in 1974.