YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The Haines Shoe House will officially open Tuesday for guests to book a short-term vacation rental.
Originally an ice cream shop that offered tours, the shoe was closed at the beginning of the year for renovations and upgrades. Owners from York County took over the property to convert it back to a guest cottage.
Naomi Brown, co-owner of The Haines Shoe House, said the upgrades done to the house still preserve the history and offer comfort to guests who chose to stay in the home. The Shoe House has three bedrooms, one bath, and has a living room with a kitchen.
“The whole outside is made out of stucco so we had the stucco redone so it’s watertight for years to come and then had everything repainted on the outside… we repainted a lot of the inside and did some repairing,” said Brown.
The Shoe House was built in 1949 by well know shoe manufacturer Mahlon Haines. According to Brown, Haines would raffle off short-term stays at the house to couples for their honeymoon or anniversary. Now in 2022, the owners said they’re using the cottage for what it was originally built for. Brown said the feedback from the community has been great so far.
“There are many people throughout the area who have a connection to the property because they had a grandparent or an aunt or someone who came and stayed in the property back in the days it was a guest house in the 1950's and 60’s,” said Brown.
Brown added, “It’s really neat to have those connections and allow people to come and stay and be like ‘wow my grandparents slept here when they were on their honeymoon I mean that’s such a unique experience and you can’t find that anywhere.”
Brown and her husband are the eighth owners to take over The Haines Shoe house. Brown said they have received some concern from the public about renovations being done but can assure residents history is being preserved.
“I want to reassure those people that we really made a lot of effort to help preserve the history and the integrity of the property and remember those connections for people who do come and stay to be able to reconnect with that history,” said Brown.
The official open of The Haines Shoe House will officially open on Nov.1 for a minimum two-night stay.
The owners say they’re only booking through the end of the year at this point. Reservations can be made through The Haines House website.
Download the FOX43 app here.