The Haines Shoe House
Modeled after a work boot, the house was built by shoe salesman Mahlon Haines in 1948 as a form of advertisement. The house, which is 25 feet tall and contains five stories, was once rented out to couples, and is now open for public tours. It is located on Shoe House Road, next to a shoe-shaped doghouse.
Haines also invited lucky newlyweds affiliated with his shoe stores to spend a romantic week in the shoe, served by a live-in butler and maid. And everyone went home with free pairs of shoes. The vacation king and queen treatment continued for a few seasons, and then the Shoe House settled into a groove as a local oddball landmark.
The Shoe House was visited in the eighth season of the reality television series The Amazing Race .
Watch as Retro News Anchors, Vivica & Charlie discuss the history behind this great tourist attraction.
LMS Visits the Haines Shoe House
We discovered this roadside oddity a few minutes away from our weekly rehearsal spot, and we thought it would make a cool location for a photo shoe-t. Only problem is, the place wasn't actually open the day we wanted to visit. Fortunately, we used our status as an internationally ranked quartet to procure an off-peak, VIP limited access permit. In other words, we e-mailed the owners and they said, We're too busy to come unlock the gates, but feel free to hop the fence. Just don't break anything, or you'll get the boot.
Weird USA. The Strangest things to see from your car. ????????PART 1????????
Thought you'd seen everything ? You're not drunk, you did just drive past a 60 foot chicken.
The weirdest, strangest, bizarre things to see when driving in America.
The weirdest roadside attractions feature:
The Big Chicken, Marietta, Georgia.
World's largest 6 pack, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Biloxi, Missippippi.
Harvey the giant rabbit, Aloha, Oregon.
World's largest baseball bat, Louisville Slugger Museum, Kentucky.
Uniroyal giant tire, Allen Park, Michigan.
Big Blue Bug, Providence, Rhode Island.
Longaberger basket building, Newark, Ohio.
Hood Milk Bottle, Boston, Massachusetts.
World's largest chest of drawers, High Point, North Carolina.
Giant Fork, Springfield, Missouri.
Shell Service Station, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
World's largest office chair, Anniston, Alabama.
Haines Shoe House, Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania.
Brooks Catsup Bottle Water Tower (The World's Largest Catsup Bottle), Collinsville, Illinois.
Koontz Coffee Pot, Bedford, Pennsylvania.
Leaning Tower of Niles, Niles, Illinois.
Ear of Corn Water Tower, Rochester, Minnesota.
Paul Bunyon (not Bunyan) hotdog Statue, Route 66, Atlanta, Illinois.
Randy's Donuts, Inglewood, California. (As seen in film and TV - Iron Man 2, Get Shorty, 2012 etc, and I love LA by Randy Newman.)
Many of these are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and are examples of novelty architecture.
If you are looking for fun things to do and see this weekend, you know what to do - Just get in your car, and drive around the USA. There are lots of things to see ! Enjoy.