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All the United States Texas San Antonio World's Largest Cowboy Boots

World's Largest Cowboy Boots

These boots are made for selfies.

San Antonio, Texas

Added By
William Davis
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CAPTION
Big Boots.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
Bob Wade’s star behind the boots (June 2019)   CDVV86 / Atlas Obscura User
World’s Largest Cowboy Boots (June 2019)   CDVV86 / Atlas Obscura User
2-5-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
2-5-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
2-5-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
  Myolliefont / Atlas Obscura User
2-5-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
  jarederdmann / Atlas Obscura User
Cowboy Boots with Yellow Rose Bouquet   Nan Palmero
Stars on boots.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
Wow.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
Very large boots.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
Largest boots.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
Just my size.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
  gigglingiguana / Atlas Obscura User
Nice boots.   satxwdavis / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In 1979, on a vacant lot three blocks from the White House, Bob “Daddy-O” Wade began building a pair of 40-foot-tall ostrich-skin cowboy boots. Well, concrete and fiberglass made to look like ostrich skin, which he felt gave the giant duo a real Texan style.

Bob Wade’s art has been shown in museums and spaces around the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the 1977 Paris Biennale (alongside Marina Abramović). After seeing his giant iguana sculpture called Iggy on the roof of the LoneStar Cafe in New York City, an arts nonprofit commissioned Wade for a public art piece in Washington D.C.

After six months at 12th and G streets, the boots were taken—with a considerable amount of trouble—on flatbed trucks to the North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas, a process Wade memorialized in the song “Too High Too Wide Too Long.”

In their first few years at the mall, a DJ broadcasted live from the top of the boots during the San Antonio Rodeo. People would have tailgate parties just outside. During a particularly rowdy year, someone got excited and kicked a hole in one of the heels, making way for a homeless person to stay for a while. He was discovered and booted after mall-goers noticed the billowing smoke from a Sterno can he used as a stove.

In 2016, the Guinness Book recognized the giant pair as the world's largest cowboy boot sculpture. While everything might not be bigger in Texas, Wade can certainly proclaim his boots are.

Related Tags

Sculptures Art Outsider Art

Know Before You Go

These cool boots are located on the corner entrance of a very busy shopping mall. To get up close, you have to park and dodge traffic. It's not recommended for those with children who want to get close to the boots.

Community Contributors

Added By

satxwdavis

Edited By

wadeo3, gigglingiguana, nanpalmero, CDVV86...

  • wadeo3
  • gigglingiguana
  • nanpalmero
  • CDVV86
  • Darrell Powers
  • Myolliefont
  • jarederdmann
  • priddydawn

Published

October 20, 2017

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Sources
  • http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-s-giant-North-Star-Mall-boots-6498894.php
  • Www.bobwade.com
World's Largest Cowboy Boots
7400 San Pedro Ave
San Antonio, Texas
United States
29.518007, -98.4975
Get Directions

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