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In January of 1980, the “boots” officially arrived in San Antonio. The “World’s Largest Cowboy Boots” sculpture stands an impressive 35-feet, three inches tall. It is 30-feet long, nine–feet wide and weighs 10,000 pounds. But have you ever wondered about who created them? and why?.
Artist
Austin-born artist Bob “Daddy O” Wade was 36 years old when he was contacted in 1979 by the Washington Project for the Arts out of Washington, D.C. They asked him to create a Texas-themed sculpture to be featured in an empty lot near the White House. The late colorful artist Bob “Daddy-O” Wade created massive cowboy boots and our nation’s capital got an up-close example that everything really IS bigger in Texas.
Wade is known for several other giant creations, including a 40-foot long iguana that sits atop the Ft. Worth Zoo. Wade also
created the dancing frogs on the roof of a Taco Cabana in Dallas and a 70-foot high saxophone in Houston.
The boots were first featured in an empty lot that was only blocks away from the White House. Soon after the boots went on display in Washington, a bidding war began to bring the boots back to Texas. The then-owners of the North Star Mall outbid everyone else and purchased the boots for $20,000.
Journey to San Antonio
The journey to get the boots to the Alamo City was not easy. When the structure was loaded on to three trailers, one trailer was too high, one was too wide and one was too long. One of the boots got stuck under an overpass during its road trip to its new home. The boots have become a popular tourist spot in San Antonio and upward of 200,000 cars pass by them daily on Loop 410.
A documentary “Too High, Too Wide and Too Long” about Wade that was released in 1999. I believe you can find a copy on YouTube, but it is about 55 min long. Here is a link to a short interview with him for Texas Country Reporter.