11/28/11

Marikina The Shoe Capital



Marikina is not the shoe capital of the Philippines for nothing. For the greater part of the 20th century, Marikina was the biggest manufacturer of quality shoes. There was a time, between 1978 and 1982, when Marikina’s women’s shoes and handbags made of snakeskin were the rave on Fifth Avenue, New York City. As early as 1935, Marikina already had 139 shops producing 260,078 pairs of ladies shoes and 86,692 pairs of men shoes worth P762,896.00. And as may as 2,450 inhabitants were directly engaged in the industry either as shoemakers or uppermakers. By 1983, Marikina produced 70 percent of the shoe production of the Philippines which was estimated at 30 million pairs.



The Largest Shoes in the World are located in Marikina City !

Officially recognized and certified by the Guinness Book Of World Records, the pair of shoes measurre 529 centimeter(5.29 meters)long measures 237 centimeters(2.37 meters)width and is made of genuine leather. The upper lining it took 77 days to finish(August 5, 2002 to October 21,2002). Due to its sheer size, it was built at the Marikina Sports Center. Upcon completion, the shoes were displayed at the entrance of the Sports Center, then later transferred to the Marikina Riverbanks where it is located until present.



The shoes can be worn by a person with a height of 125 feet can fit 30 people inside the shoes can produce 250 pairs of regular shoes from the materials used.

You can see the shoes for yourselves by visiting the Marikina Riverbanks Center. It's at the far end of the mall and beside several shoes on display for sale. There are also some souvenirs you can buy like t-shirts and keychains.

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