Roadside Oddities

York, Pennsylvania High 75 Low 61

Today we went to see some of the oddities shown in Roadside America. The first was a house built to look like a shoe.Modeled after a work boot, the house was built by shoe salesman Mahlon Haines in 1948 as a form of advertisement.  Among his various companies, he owned a company that likes to claim that they raised boots "hoof-to-hoof" because the company did the boot making process starting with raising the cattle. The house, which is 25 feet (7.6 m) 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 had the building built by handing a work boot to an architect saying, "Build me a house like this."  He lived in the shoe house for a short while but ended up moving into a house across the street. The renters were served by a maid and butler and then received free pairs of shoes when they left. A Shoe House vacation contest was held which was won in 1950 and had all expenses paid by Mahlon Haines. Fire escapes were added to the house in the 1960s.

All the windows are stained glass with a shoe in the glass.

The fence also has shoes on it.

We next went to see a rotating Weight lifter at the York Barbell Company. It is visible from Interstate 83. Roadside America said it was stationary, but must have been repair because it was rotating. On the site is a Museum showing the history of weight lifting as well as the accomplishments of Bob Hoffman, the fonder of York Barbell.

We saw an old Chevrolet on top of a Dance Bar. The sign said it was a fifty bar, Called Bar Under The Car.

We went to the Harley Davidson factory and Cindy picked out a three wheeler to sit on while I got to sit on a regular motorcycle. They give tours of the operation, but don't allow any photos. There were a lot of people to see the tour and lots of motorcycles were parked outside.

This was the only area we were allowed to take pictures.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the vet to get Penny her last distemper shot and to be checked out. We hope there are no problems.

Thanks for visiting.