Day, the Fourth

Lantern to My Feet

Today, a quickie. Recently, and apropos of nothing, an image came across my social media of the construction of the Haines Shoe House in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania.

Originally built in 1948 to promote the shoe store of Mahlon Haines, today it’s rented out as an Air B and B. Here’s a comparision.

While this particular building has nothing to do with New Hampshire (believe me I tried to find a connection) it did get me thinking about mimetic architecture in the Granite State.

Popularized in the early part of the 20th Century, mimetic is a style of architecture that mimics the purpose of what the building is being used for, mostly for advertising effect. For example, a coffee shop shaped like a coffee pot, or a blueberry stand shaped like a blueberry. There’s one of those in Columbia Falls, Maine.

New Hampshire used to have the Moxie bottle house, but that is also, now, in Maine. And though our state doesn’t have much in the way of mimetic houses, ironically, we do have not one, but two Shoe Houses. And it just so happens that Little Bean has visited them both!

Down in Hudson, at the site of the old Benson’s Animal Farm, a town park was opened in 2010. Many of the original features of the Animal Farm remain, including The Old Woman’s Shoe, one of Little Bean’s favorite memories!

Benson Park is located at 19 Kimball Hill Road and is free and open year-round as near as we can tell. Signage will lead you to the shoe.

Meanwhile, up in Glen, one of New England’s most popular theme parks, Storyland, also has a shoe, and an old woman to go with it. Storyland, of course, is not free and seasonal as well. If you stop by at 850 Route 16 and manage to peer over the fence, you can’t miss the grand shoe.

Finally, a word about “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.” The song that became a nursery rhyme dates as far back as the 1790s, and folklorists, as they do, have been trying to figure out the larger meaning of the song. Many come down on the side of suggesting fertility. After all, we tie shoes to a newly married couple’s car. In some cultures, women will wear the shoes of another woman who just gave birth. And that old woman did have SO MANY CHILDREN she didn’t know what to do!

Shoes, shoes, give them a visit. Where ever you may be from, do you know of any mimetic architecture in New England or anywhere that you’ve visited. Let us know!