Presidential footwear exhibit arrives at DC's Mayflower Hotel
WASHINGTON - A display showcasing an interesting bit of presidential history has landed in D.C. ahead of the 60th presidential inauguration.
Johnston & Murphy’s Presidential Footwear exhibit is being showcased at The Mayflower Hotel, Autograph Collection in Northwest D.C. as part of its election year tour.
The company has handcrafted a custom pair of shoes for every American President since Millard Fillmore in 1850 to President Joseph Biden in 2021.
They're now displaying 15 pairs of these historical shoes at The Mayflower Hotel. The collection includes shoes worn by Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The shoes will be on display in the mezzanine area at The Mayflower Hotel, Autograph Collection located at 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Jan. 29.
According to a spokesperson, The Mayflower Hotel, part of The Marriott Autograph Collection, has been a D.C. landmark since 1925. The hotel has a long-standing presidential history, hosting presidential inauguration events from President Calvin Coolidge to President Ronald Reagan.
Here are some fun footwear facts, provided by Johnston & Murphy’s:
- Abraham Lincoln had the largest foot of any U.S. President. He wore a size 14.
- Rutherford B. Hayes had the smallest foot of any president at a size 7.
- Richard Nixon wore his shoes so often he sent them back to Johnston & Murphy to be resoled.
- Lyndon Johnson needed specially designed shoes to accommodate the difference between his right foot (11C) and his left foot (11.5 C).
- Bill Clinton wears a size 13D, the largest foot of any president since Lincoln.
The Source: Johnston and Murphy's footwear