The Shoe Museum (Filipino: ''Museo ng Sapatos''; formerly known as the Footwear Museum of Marikina) is a museum in

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

History

The structure housing the Shoe Museum in Marikina was built in the 1860s during the

Spanish colonial era in the Philippines Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and was used as an arsenal by the Spaniards. During the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

, the building was used as a detention center. It was then used as a motor pool of the American era. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the structure was repurposed as a rice mill by the Tuason family. Former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

and criminal convict

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...

's shoe collection had been on display at the Malacañang Palace Museum (now the Presidential Museum and Library) for six years during

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

's presidential term before it was placed in storage at the beginning of

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

's presidency. A portion of Marcos' shoe collection seized by the

Presidential Commission on Good Government The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is a quasi-judicial government agency of the Philippines whose primary mandate is to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by Ferdinand Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordin ...

was requested to be transferred to the Marikina city government led by Mayor

Bayani Fernando Bayani Flores Fernando (born July 25, 1946) is a Filipino politician, businessman and professional mechanical engineer who served as the representative for Marikina's 1st congressional district from 2016 to 2022. Prior to his election to cong ...

in 1996. Marcos did not object to the request in 1998. In the same year, Fernando conceived the idea to open a museum dedicated to Marikina's shoe industry. The Footwear Museum of Marikina was opened as Marikina Footwear Museum on February 16, 2001, after renovation work in the late 1990s was finished. Imelda Marcos herself led the museum's opening.

Collection

The Marikina Shoe Museum is dedicated to footwear and Marikina's shoemaking industry. It also features footwear from foreign cultures as well as shoes worn by well-known individuals such as Filipino celebrities and politicians. The museum's main feature is a portion of criminal convict and former

Imelda Marcos's shoe collection (749 pairs as of 2020).

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Marikina 2001 establishments in the Philippines Museums in Metro Manila Shoe museums

History

Collection

See also

References