Where do you find a Shoe Museum?

Answer 1

One of the most famous, if not the only one, shoe museum in the Philippines is in Marikina. The Shoe Museum is located along J.P. Rizal St., Sta. Elena.

The Museum now houses about 800 pairs of shoes belonging to former Lady Imelda Marcos who was famous internationally for her extravagant and vast collection of shoes. It also houses an expensive shoe collection donated by well-known personalities and even pairs of traditional shoes of other countries. You'll see there a pair of Ballet shoes from Lisa Macuja, fire-red shoes of "blood lady" Rosa Rosal, a pair of office shoes from president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and much much more. The entrance fee is only Php20.00 per person. Unfortunately, the museum management would not allow cameras and picture taking inside the museum.

A Bit of its History

The Marikina Shoe Museum, the only one in the country, used to be a bigasang bayan [rice mill] owned by affluent family of Doña Teresa dela Paz,

the common descent of the Tuazon clan. It was the only rice mill in the town and farmers used to deal with Jose Peping Santos, the Tuason's administrator, for the storage of their produced grains. Beside the rice mill was the old mansion of Doña Teresa that also serves as the office of the hacienda de Tuason. It was a huge abode where mestizas used to party accompanied by a symphony orchestra. Old stories provided that the regal house has been destroyed by fire but no account has been established. During the American regime, the lot was used for the construction of a puericulture center that responded to the medical and health needs of the residents of Marikina. It is now occupied by a shoe supply center.