This is a famous landmark south of Seattle, a cowboy-themed gas station built in the 1950s as part of a half-completed "Frontier Village" shopping center. The station remained in operation until 1988.
2006 view of Hat n' Boots, with boots restored.
Since then, the Hat n' Boots have deteriorated, been vandalized, and continue at times to rouse the vague interest of local preservation groups.
The brim of the hat is 40 feet wide, scuffed up by adventurous skateboarders. The boots are the mens' and ladies' lavatories -- the taller boot on the right is the men's room. It's worth a stop for a quick photo over or through the surrounding fence...
Of special note is that the creator of Hat n' Boots and Frontier Village was Buford Seals. Proving that there are second acts in America, Seals later moved to San Diego, where he and his wife, Bernice, opened a famous 24-hour candy store right by the water in Ocean Beach.
July 2006: The Boots have been fully restored. The Hat is still a framework,
augmented with floral covering for now.
May 2004: The Hat n' Boots were moved in mid-December 2003 to Oxbow Park, Georgetown, a Seattle suburb. They stand in an half-residential, half-industrial neighborhood, on a lot under development as a park. The focal points will by the Hat n' Boots. The cowboy hat, a skeleton at present, will house an interpretive exhibit on the history and meaning of the Hat n' Boots.
