Mulberry Street

The setting for this story is quite obvious—it all happens on Mulberry Street, of course. After all, the title is And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, and Marco exclaims with delight at the end:

FOR I HAD A STORY THAT NO ONE COULD BEAT!
AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET! (110-111)

Mulberry Street also has special significance because when Seuss himself was growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts, he lived quite close to a Mulberry Street. He probably even rode on the trolley past the street when he was going to school—and who knows what he dreamed up going to and from school as a kid.

In the book, Mulberry Street is a pretty normal suburban street. It's the route that Marco takes to get home, and he admits that all that he sees as he walks home (initially) is a wagon and a horse. And when his dad asks what he's seen, he responds with just that mundane detail:

"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet,
"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street." (121-122)

The truth is, Mulberry Street is a place that Marco probably sees everyday. It's not very interesting and it's so repetitive to walk down a plain old street, so instead Marco uses it as a blank canvas to throw in some pretty zany events and characters.

He's able to turn a plain old suburban street into the kind of place where spontaneous parades just happen, envisioning:

The Mayor is there
And the Aldermen too,
All waving big banners
Of red, white and blue.
And that is a story that NO ONE can beat
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street! (88-93)

Using his wild imagination, Marco transforms boring Mulberry Street into an actual wonderland. If this book were set in a jungle or an urban center, Marco's imagination might be more influenced by the sights and sounds around him, so Mulberry Street provides the perfect backdrop for his creativity to shine on.