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Giant Boots & Skates

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Bootmobile
Burbank, CA		 Giant Boot
Black Earth, WI
This Bootmobile is located at Victor's Shoe Repair. It has been there since at least 2006. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

This Giant Boot is installed on the roof of a van advertising for the Shoe Box shoe store. I believe it represents a Red Wing boot.

Red Wing Boot
Red Wing, MN
This Red Wing Boot is believed to be the world's largest work boot. It is 20 feet long and 16 feet tall. It was made of the same materials as the company's actual boot. The Red Wing Shoe Company produced it in 2005 to commemorate its 100 year anniversary. The Boot is located inside the Red Wing Shoe Museum. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

L.L. Bean Boot
Freeport, ME		 Cowboy Boot
Owensboro, KY		 Cowboy Boot
Tucson, AZ
The Bean Boot is 17 feet tall and just outside the front door of their headquarters. It was built for their 90th anniversary in 2002. The classic "Maine Hunting Boot" was invented in 1912 and has been altered very little. In 2012, the company unveiled its new Bootmobile. For more, see their webpages: 1 and 2.

This Cowboy Boot in Owensboro is installed on the roof of Walters' Shoe Mart.

This Cowboy Boot in Tucson is about 16 feet tall. It was created in 1976 for the Tack Room restaurant. The artist was Michael Kautza who also built the Bull and Matador and the Wine Bottle in Tucson. In 1983, the Boot was moved to its current location at the entrance to the Vactor Ranch residential community. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Cowboy Boot
Amarillo, TX		 Cowboy Boots
San Antonio, TX
This Cowboy Boot in Amarillo is located in front of the Big Texan Restaurant. The boot has been here since at least 2000. For more, see their website.

These Cowboy Boots in San Antonio are both 40 feet tall by 35 feet wide. They were created by Bob "Daddy-O" Wade in 1979 for the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) in Washington, DC. In 1980, they were moved here to the North Star Mall. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Cowboy Boots
Cheyenne, WY

These 8 feet tall Cowboy Boots were produced by local artists as part of a fundraising project for the Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation. 26 of these boots were installed around town in 2004. Most of them were auctioned off later that year. I found six of them in 2006 but might have missed some. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

Cowboy Boots
Columbus, NE		 Armando's Boot Co.
Raymondville, TX		 La Casa del Vaquero
Chicago, IL
These two Cowboy Boots are at the T-Bone Truck Stop. They must be from the same mold as (and most likely made at the same time as) the Giant Boots in Cheyenne, WY described above.

The giant boot at Armando's Boot Co. is installed on the store's roof. It appears to be from the same mold as those in Cheyenne, WY shown above.

La Casa del Vaquero is a boots and Western clothing store.

Cowboy Boot
Mitchell, SD		 Justin Boot
Bakersfield, CA		 Justin Boot
Winterboro, AL		 Boot
Clovis, NM		 Tony Lama Boot
Black Earth, WI		 Tony Lama Boot
Oak Grove, OR
The Mitchell Boot sign is located at the Merchandise Outlet Store which sells Western wear.

The Justin Boot is a fairly common advertising device used nationwide. I believe they are still being produced. The one in Bakersfield looks brand new while the one in Winterboro is weathered. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. [Winterboro photo thanks Tim Ross]

The Boot in Clovis is installed above Sasser's Boot & Shoe Repair. It appears to be a former Justin or Tony Lama Boot. However, it doesn't have the bulge for either company's logo.

This Black Earth Tony Lama Boot stands at the Shoe Box shoe store. It is accompanied by two giant Justin Boots, as well as a fiberglass cow and rearing horse. [photo thanks Mark Comstock]

This Oak Grove Tony Lama Boot is another modern one but a paint scheme that I haven't seen before. It is installed at Centerville Western Wear.

Cowboy Boot & Hat
Garner, NC		 Spur
Abilene, KS		 Spur
Phoenix, AZ
The Garner Boot & Hat are installed on a trailer in front of the Country Connection, a Western clothes store.

The Giant Spur in Abilene is located at the Dickinson County Fairgrounds. It is about 27 feet tall. The top part of this spur spins in the wind.

The Giant Spur in Phoenix serves as an entrance to the Stockyards Restaurant building.

More Giant Boots:
Tony Lama Boots (Burnsville, MN)
Red Wing Boot (Red Wing, MN)
Giant Boots (Columbus, OH) [gone]
Giant Boot (Western Canada)

John T. Strickland, Jr. owned the Starlite Skate Center chain in Florida and invented skate cars as a form of mobile advertising for his rinks. These cars were built on a Volkswagen van chassis and can be driven in parades or just around town. When parked, they function as signs to catch the attention of passing motorists. These cars can be converted from high-top to speed skate by removing the top piece of fiberglass. Strickland produced seven of these cars and had the design patented in 1978. Approximately 30 of these skate cars were produced and about a half dozen of them are still around.

Skate Car [gone]
Buster's Fun Factory
Riverdale, GA

This Skate Car was built by J.T. Strickland. It was perched on top of the sign at Buster's Fun Factory, a roller skating rink. It was driven in local parades at one time. In 2008, this rink was demolished and the skate is now gone. Does anyone know where it went?

Skate Cars
Anderson, SC

These two Skate Cars are located at Skateland USA which opened in 1995. I believe there was another skating rink here before that was in operation since at least the 1970s. These skate cars were built by J.T. Strickland. The advertising on one of these skates refers to Stardust Skate Centers in Albany and Augusta, GA and Charleston, SC. I don't know what the relationship is between this rink and those.

Aloha Roller Palace
Mesquite, TX

The Aloha Roller Palace has one of J.T. Strickland's original seven skate cars (see "Buster's" above). This skating rink opened around 1966 as the Westlake Skate Center. Their skate car was originally displayed as a high top skate. It was painted black with two white stripes like a men's skate. In 2010, new owners changed the rink's name and changed the skate's look. The top part of the skate was removed and it was covered with new wrap advertising which features a Hawaiian sunset.

Rollercade
Longview, TX

This Rollercade skate car was also produced by J.T. Strickland. It was taken down once or twice a year to be driven around. This place has been closed since at least 2006. These photos are from 2011.

Giant Skate
Bealeton, VA
This Giant Skate is about ten feet tall. It is made of cement with a metal heel and wooden wheels. It was probably inspired by Strickland's skate cars. This business was known as Hugo's Skating Rink when the first two photos were taken in 2004. I believe Hugo's opened in 1976 but I don't know when the skate was built. By 2009, the skate had been repainted and the place was called Carroll's Skating Rink. The three photos at the right are from 2010 when there was no name on the skate. There was a sign for Rollerworks Family Skating Center but I don't know if they are still open. For more, see this website.

Landmark Skate & Fun Center
Pensacola, FL		 Giant Skate
Boardman, OH
Landmark Skate & Fun Center opened in the mid-1950s as Dreamland South. It became the Landmark in 1984. Donna Baudendistel, one of the rink's owners, had always wanted a skate car. In 2004, Donna and her husband began building one of their own. They bought a junked 1980s Ford Bronco for $250 and stripped it to the chassis. The skate's body was built with $1800 worth of fiberglass. Two sixty foot hoses from the local fire station were donated for the skate's laces. Stove burners were used for the laces' eyelets. A couple of bench seats were concealed in the laces and a platform to stand on was built into the top of the skate. The skate was completed in 2007. Donna is still looking for a suitable object to use as a toe stop.

This skate car was designed to be towed not driven. When not in use, this skate is displayed in front of the rink. It was modeled after a toddler's skate – hence the goofy proportions. It measures fourteen feet and one inch tall which is seven inches over the legal limit. Therefore, this skate is only allowed to be towed to and from parades and special events. As a towed vehicle, it must display a Florida license plate. The one on the Landmark skate reads: B1G SK8. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

The Boardman Giant Skate is located inside at Youngstown Skate. It is probably from the 1960s or 1970s. It appears to be battery-operated and is driven around the rink now and then. It has been painted different colors over the years.

More Giant Skates:
Skateland: 1, 2 (Anchorage, AK)
University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
Sparkles Family Fun Center (Hiram, GA)
Austinburg Skating Rink & Party Center (Austinburg, OH)
Stan's Skateland (Montross, VA)
Harborena: 1, 2 (Seattle, WA)

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