The big boot on Broadway has become a bit of an icon and photo op. Since 2002 it has stood at the south end of Broadway, welcoming travelers to Eureka, and to Great Western Clothing, the town’s western store. When Lisa McBride bought the store six years ago, refurbishing the boot was on her wish list. Last year McBride’s friends at Myrtletown Body Shop spearheaded the restoration project. “They swung by the store one evening,” McBride said, “and loaded it onto a truck. It must have looked suspicious, because within minutes my phone was ringing,” she laughed, “People thought it was being stolen!” The store received about a hundred calls and comments asking what happened to the boot. Instead of squelching the rumors they played it up on social media. ”We did a whole series of memes about the boot’s abduction and rumors of plastic surgery.” McBride said.
While away from the store the boot underwent a complete makeover. Myrtletown Body Shop did some body work on the old boot and painted and airbrushed some details. Then they brought Sharp Autographics and Signs in on the project to add the California poppies McBride had wanted. “They both did an absolutely amazing job!” McBride said, “It makes me smile, every morning.”
This article appears in My Humboldt Life June 2025.