PORT ANGELES, Wash. — This Port Angeles shoe store has one foot in the present - and the other planted firmly in the past.
"I have all the old equipment and we might as well have fun with it,” said owner Kevin Thompson as he switched on a noisy mechanical hand-painted cartoon mural from the 1950s that’s been at the back of the store for decades.
The Family Shoe Store has been in Thompson’s family for five generations, and with its antique shoes on display and vintage equipment still in use, it could double as a museum.
"Like I say if I get rid of that kind of stuff, I might as well just close the store,” he laughed.
There's a Primex x-ray - a common, and dangerous, gimmick for sizing customers in the '40s.
Kids have been fitted for new shows on the store's bright red benches with animals painted on them for decades.
Hand painted murals advertising children's shoe brands adorn many walls in the store, one complete with a cartoon character smoking a big ol’ stogie - a G-rated image back in the day.
The mechanical mural is powered by something this store has plenty of: a shoestring - tied to an electric motor.
"It's a big one for the kids, let me tell ya. And adults. It draws a lot of attention,” said Thompson after throwing the switch that makes the figures on the mural wag their heads, swing hammers and saw logs.
The shoe store's 1913 building is the oldest in Port Angeles, in addition to the colorful murals, this place has had a colorful past. Upstairs was once a brothel. Now it stores a treasure trove of shoes from decades ago.
Ryan Brooks is Kevin's stepson, the next generation of family stepping into all these shoes.
"It's comfortable, It's cozy. It's a fantastic business and there's a lot of history behind it,” Brooks said.
Some of that history helps customers find a better fit, like an antique iron device called a Passmore that sits right on the store’s main cash register counter, looking for all the world like an implement of torture. Instead it’s a shoe stretcher that instantly adds room to any shoe.
This place specializes in fit - and if you're a 5th generation shoe store owner, you get pretty good at helping people find the right shoes.
"I love the challenges of fitting the way more difficult feet,” Thompson said.
“I actually have like a few cards and tokens from people who have come back and said, you know, thank you so much. This has been life changing,” Brooks said.
Customer Larry Latson summed it up: "Most places, you show up you get your shoes and you walk away, if they don't work, then you throw ‘em away and get another pair. Here, you get service."
And that's what keeps generations coming back to this shoe store that proudly shows its age.
Customers feel like family here also.
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