Photo above: World's Largest Shoe House: The Haines Shoe House / Drone Photo by Shoe House neighbor Roger Huegel

The official Hellam Township website says: "Haines Shoe House was built in 1948 by Mahlon Haines. It is located on Shoe House Road between the Lincoln Highway (state route 462) and U.S. Route 30. The Shoe House is easily visible from Route 30. The building was modeled after a high-topped work shoe. It is a wood frame structure covered with wire lath and coated with cement stucco. It is 48 feet long, 17 feet wide at the widest part and 25 feet high. The interior consists of five different levels and contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.

"Originally the Shoe House was used as a guesthouse. Haines invited elderly couples to spend the weekend. He also let honeymooners stay there. Mahlon Haines, known as the Shoe Wizard, was one of York County's most colorful citizens. From his first consignment of $127 worth of shoes, he built a shoe sales empire in central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland that included more than 40 stores."

"Haines died in 1962 leaving the shoe-shaped property to his employees who immediately thought to sell it, the mybestplace.com reports.

"In 1964, Eleanor Hallman bought it as a guest house and ice cream parlor and it remained this way for over 20 years. In 2004, the house was bought by Carleenand Ronald Farabaugh, a couple who planned to organize sightseeing tours. After some important renovations in 2007, the shoe-shaped property officially opened to the public."

"The tours proved successful, but for some unknown reason in 2015, the house was sold yet again to Jeff and Malanie Schmucks - the seventh new owners!

"This young couple was full of enthusiasm for the house, adding little touches of color and re-inserting old memorabilia and furnishings from 1950 in order to revive the true essence of this home. The boot is eight meters high, with a masonry wooden frame and includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room, all spread over five levels."

The Haines Shoe 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 requested the design by handing a work boot to an architect and saying, "Build me a house like this."

The living room is located in the toe, the kitchen is located in the heel, two bedrooms are located in the ankle, and an ice cream shop is located in the instep. There is also a stained glass panel that shows Mahlon holding a pair of shoes with a message below it that reads, "Haines the Shoe Wizard". Fire escapes were added in the 1960s.

Here are some reviews from Trip Advisor:

"It is such a quaint small-town road side attraction, that was actually a Shoe-Seller's home -- how cool is that? I went on a beautiful day that wasn't crowded. Easy to get to, a very fair price ($5/person for the Tour of this 5 split-levels home laden with personal/local history), some parking is available, plus a port-a-potty (but not the wide kind that are wheelchair accessible). The entrance to the bottom floor snack bar (plenty of hot & cold drinks, snacks, baked goods, and DELICIOUS Beck's ice cream) & Gift Shoppe (grab yourself a t-shirt or mug, SEND A POST CARD) is wheelchair accessible," says Robert D. from Damascus, MD.

"Bring a picnic lunch (get your sodas, chips & icecream from the shoppe) and sit at the picnic bench by the Cherry tree, sit back, relax, absorb the tranquil surroundings, and enjoy a nice day trip by yourself or with your loving family & closest friends. Share the good times and send a post card.
A day well worth the drive, truly a day well spent.

The GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the largest building shaped like a shoe; it measures 25.16 m (82 ft 6.55 in) in length, 17.76 m (58 ft 3.21 in) in height and 11.91 m (39 ft 0.89 in) in width and was created by South West Coast National Scenic Area Administration, Tourism Bureau and Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Chinese Taipei) in Chiayi, Chinese Taipei.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS also recognized the word record for the largest building in the shape of a lantern is 329.28 m² (3544 ft² 59.56 in²) and was achieved by Xihe Bay Hakka Cultural Tourism Industrial Park (China) at Xihe Bay, Yonghe, Xingning, Guangdong, China, on 9 December 2017.

The Haines Shoe House official website

The Haines Shoe House Facebook page

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