Giant Shoe Museum

The Giant Shoe Museum was first conceived as a place to display Danny Eskenazi's collection of novelty shoes, once displayed by shoe companies to advertise their product. Only one shoe in this museum was actually worn by a human being, the World's Tallest Man as noted in Guiness's Book of World Records...Robert Wadlow. Viewed through brass eyepieces for the price of a quarter, one might see a shoe such as "The Colossus".

Resembling an entrance to a circus sideshow, the Giant Shoe Museum is a flamboyant presence at Seattle's downtown Pike Place Market. While it is essentially a single exhibit wall, it occupies a sizable chunk of the Old Seattle Paperworks store. Its owner, John Hanawalt, recalled the day that he presented the idea to the city commissioners who had to approve displays and signage. "I had mock-ups and drawings and I brought in one of the giant shoes," he said, "and they all looked at me like I was completely nuts."