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Footprints Lawrence

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Footprints Lawrence

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www.footprints.com We think this is the best place to buy Birkenstocks in the entire country. We have more than 10,000 pair in stock.

Our retail store and mail order business are both operated out of the same building, an old grocery storefront built of limestone in the 1870s. We are experts at fitting and have a complete repair shop. We invite you to come in and see our selection. Take your time trying on as many pairs as you would like. Choose the pair that is perfect for you.

10/30/2026

"What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value." — Thomas Paine

When you fly into Philadelphia and take the train downtown, disembarking at Jefferson Station hints at what you are about to encounter. Philly is, after all, the cradle of our democracy. Everywhere you go you bump into the native son, Benjamin Franklin. His image, likeness as statues, and name are everywhere. Other founding mothers and fathers are ever-present. An easy walk from Jefferson Station is the location where Thomas Jefferson along with his 14-year-old slave, Robert Hemmings lived. It is there that he penned our Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was on the committee in charge of producing the document. Jefferson wrote it, and Franklin edited it. Ben's primary contribution was changing the phrase, "We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable." to "We hold these truths to be self-evident." to ground human equality in science and philosophy rather than divine authority. A few blocks away is Independence Hall, at that time called the Philadelphia State House. It was there that the document was discussed and signed. Across the street is the Liberty Bell, now showcased in a special museum where there is always a long line to get in. At the other end of the long grassy mall in front of Independence Hall is the National Constitution Center. It is located here because the US Constitution was also written at the Philadelphia State House a little more than a decade after the Declaration of Independence. Other nearby sites include the house where Betsy Ross sewed our flag, and the Museum of the American Revolution. Philly is the cradle of our democracy because our two founding legal documents were created right here.

While standing in the long lines for Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center, you notice all ages, races, and nationalities. Although history isn't thought of as being very sexy, interest in these founding documents is high and appreciated by foreigners as much as by Americans. You need a ticket to enter Independence Hall. It is free, but tickets sell out quickly after they become available the night before at 5:00. The tour is brief but informative. It is wonderful to be "in the room where it happened". The National Park Service rangers are knowledgeable and take their jobs seriously. They present the history and story of our nation's founding in an interesting and thoughtful manner.

I voted today. The line wasn't as long as for the Liberty Bell, but you could sense a similar appreciation amongst voters for our founding documents. Just showing up and voting helps preserve the intention of those documents. Those documents seem so much more dear when one is invested in preserving them and all they stand for.

Take a walk to your local polling place if you have not already voted.
— Mick

https://footprints.com/blogs/take-a-walk-with-birkenstock/benjamin-franklins-at-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art-philadelphia-pa

10/23/2026

"The mountains are calling and I must go."
— John Muir

The fire is crackling in the fireplace. The hunter's trophies peer at you from above. Original artwork on the walls depicts a bygone era of train travel and steamer trunks. The lobby's ambiance is deliberate, bathed in a sense of ongoing history. It is a lovely place to settle in. Staying at the historic Lake McDonald Lodge is spendy, and you must plan months in advance to secure a room as they usually sell out early. I was not an overnight guest, but it was fun to enter the lobby, sit, and soak in the history. I am sure staying here is special if you are lucky enough to secure a room.

Western painter Charlie Russell built his Bull Head Lodge and art studio on the shore of Lake McDonald in 1906. At the same time, John Lewis took possession of a small hunting lodge at the present Lake McDonald Lodge site. When President Howard Taft signed the legislation creating Glacier National Park in 1910, Lewis decided to greatly expand the hunting lodge into a Swiss-alpine design. The original lodge faced the lake. Well-heeled train passengers would arrive by steamboat and disembark at the front door. Nowadays, visitors arrive at the back door. Charlie Russell helped design the original concrete and stone fireplace. Since Russell lived nearby, he frequently entertained guests in the lobby with stories of cowboys and Native Americans and showed off some of his artwork. His wife, Nancy, who was also his business manager, would arrange the sale of the paintings. It must have been a wonderful time period.

A philanthropist recently purchased Russell's Bull Head Lodge with plans to completely restore the structure and make it available for tours through the Park Service. The art collection within the Lake McDonald Lodge was originally commissioned by the Great Northern Railway to promote rail travel to park lodges. When the 21 paintings were donated to the National Park Service, there was a condition that the paintings must remain on view within the lodge. This condition allows current lodge visitors to have a similar experience to the early 1900s visitors. Lake McDonald Lodge has a fabulous combination of history, art, and scenery, and allows one to "step back in time."

Take a walk with Birkenstock.
— Mick

https://footprints.com/blogs/take-a-walk-with-birkenstock/lake-mcdonald-lodge-lobby-in-glacier-national-park-west-glacier-montana

10/16/2026

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
— Frederick Douglass

Our dilemma is being like the goldfish in our pond. We love our tiny antique storefront. Its charm comes with size constraints for growth. To expand our selection, we devised rotating displays that greatly increase our display space without feeling cramped, but we still have more fabulous inventory that demands clear, creative displays. Unsold inventory from past seasons competes for that space. It's every retailer's challenge. Our sales rep said, "It's simple: just sell the stuff faster. Formerly, we had an off-site warehouse where we held a massive semi-annual warehouse sale. The sale was very effective, but we sold the warehouse.

Our new solution is to convert a dark, cluttered storage space into a well-lit, intimate, well-organized sale room. Once built, bargain hunters can visit our mini "warehouse sale" every day we are open. Before we can make the transformation, we must sell the hundreds of Birkenstocks and Danskos now occupying that space. That is the purpose of our remodeling sale. We are adding discounts on top of discounts to move as many pairs as possible. The more we sell, the faster we can make this happen. We hope you find something for yourself or for someone else. With your help we can convert our current sale wall space into an area featuring fascinating new brands of handbags.

For one week, please enjoy an additional 25% discount across our entire sale section. This discount will be added once you put your item in your cart. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you for taking a peek at our bargains.
— Mick

Sale ends on Friday, Oct. 23rd, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Shop before the sale ends here: https://footprints.com/pages/sale

10/09/2026

“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.”
– Plutarch

Samuel Nickerson had made a rather large fortune in banking, railroads, and distilleries. His beautiful mansion at 40 East Erie Street in Chicago's Near North Neighborhood reflected his wealth and exquisite taste. His home was a block and a half from Lake Michigan. He had a beautiful view. That all changed with the Chicago Fire of October 1871. In total, nearly 300 people died and 18,000 structures went up in flames. Nickerson's flammable mansion was lost. No problem. He spent $450,000 (about $15 million today) building his "Marble Palace," a 24,000-square-foot, three-story, state-of-the-art mansion. Built with 17 different kinds of marble, concrete, bricks, other stone, and steel, it was fireproof. The mansion became a social gathering place for the Chicago’ Gilded Age aristocracy. The neighborhood became known as McCormickville because Cyrus McCormick and his brothers had also built mansions nearby. In 1900, Nickerson and his wife left the mansion and moved to the East Coast. He had been a founding trustee of what became the Art Institute of Chicago. Upon leaving Chicago, he donated much of his vast art collection to the Art Institute.

His home, an architectural marvel, changed hands a couple more times to owners who maintained it but did not restore it. In 2003, Richard H. Driehaus, a businessman, art collector, and philanthropist purchased the mansion to restore it to its original glory and turn it into a museum. He came from modest means. He invested money from his paper route as a kid and kept going until he amassed millions. With his great wealth, he felt he should do something for the people of Chicago, who had been so generous to him. The structure was still in pretty good shape. It was mainly dirty. The cream color stone exterior was blackened from burning coal and other urban pollutants. The interior also needed cleaning and restoration. Lasers gently removed the grime and pollution from the building's sandstone exterior. The tedious process took 18 months. The end result is gorgeous. It is both an art museum and a historical mansion. You can step inside and marvel at how not just the other half lived in the Gilded Age, but how the top one percent lived. You can have moral objections to the extreme wealth, but you can also marvel at the craftsmanship and beauty of the home's details.

The Driehaus Museum is a wonderful example of a Gilded Age mansion. The corruption at the heart of the Gilded Age income inequality was captured in Thomas Nast's cartoon of the time, "Bosses of the Senate," in which bloated Senators in the Senate Chamber had the names of the Trusts, like Standard Oil, who "owned" them stamped on their fat stomachs. Cartoons like that, plus social unrest and political action by Teddy Roosevelt and others ushered in the Progressive Era. Roosevelt's thinking can be summed up by the following quote: “The man of great wealth owes a peculiar obligation to the state because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government.” I am thankful that Mr. Driehaus felt that obligation, and wanted to return something by creating this amazing museum.

We certainly live in crazy times. It is a new gilded age. You can effectively use the Thomas Nast’s cartoon now by just changing the names of the trusts to today's billionaires. Midterms are upon us. It is democracy's method of self-correction. Take a walk to the polls and be sure to vote for whomever you think has integrity, competency, and character. Change will come.
— Mick

https://footprints.com/blogs/take-a-walk-with-birkenstock/driehaus-museum-chicago-il

10/02/2026

"For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee." — John Donne

When you look at downtown buildings in small towns across America you will frequently find the name of the businessperson who built them inscribed under the cornice. Oftentimes the business fails after a few years, but the name etched in stone persists for decades. Toponymic narcissism is the psychological term for the compulsion to plaster your name on objects, buildings, or projects. My family's surname was emblazoned on buildings and products. Creatively, when I started my first store, I called it Mick's Bike Shop. Sather Tower and Sather Gate are the two most iconic structures on the UC Berkeley Campus. Sather Gate is on Sather Road. If you turn off Sather Road onto Campanile Way you will find the most amazing clock tower, Sather Tower, the second tallest freestanding clock and bell tower in the world. They are named for Peder Sather and his wife Jane Sather respectively.

Inspired by Saint Mark's Campanile in Venice, the clock tower soars 307-feet above the Campanile Esplanade and 54 London Plane trees. It is a beautiful setting. The reinforced concrete foundation begins 18 feet underground. The I-beam frame contains 500 tons of steel encased in concrete. They omitted cross bracing on every other floor to allow the tower to wiggle during earthquakes. Over the years it has wiggled enough for bits and pieces of granite and marble to break off and fall. Plantings surround the base and a steel canopy have been added at the entrance for safety. Tower repairs have also been made. When the tower opened in March 1916, visitors could ride the elevator to the top then climb 38 more steps to the observation deck for a 360-degree view of the Bay Area and the Golden Gate. It is spectacular. Thousands of people showed up to take advantage of the view and pay the 10-cent entry fee. Entry was free for those with a campus ID. The cost remained 10 cents for nearly 65 years. Money isn't worth what it used to be. Admission is now $6 for adults and $5 for seniors. Students and faculty of UC Berkeley are still admitted free.

On the backside of the tower, you will find a bust of Abraham Lincoln atop a tall granite pedestal. This is a smaller bronze version of a much larger marble bust of Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum. The marble bust resided in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for decades. Borglum, famous for carving Mount Rushmore, considered the marble bust as one of his greatest accomplishments. The marble bust and the smaller bronze version were commissioned and paid for by Eugene I. Meyer, a UC Berkeley alum. Born in 1875, he was the son of the German-born president of the powerhouse banking firm Lazard Frères. By his 40th birthday he was worth $40 million. He became a power broker in Washington and Chairman of the Federal Reserve during the Hoover administration—unfortunate timing. Some blame him for the severity of the Great Depression. He later purchased the Washington Post at a bargain basement price of $825,000 during a bankruptcy auction. His daughter, Katherine Graham famously ran the paper after her husband's passing. Nothing on the Berkeley campus is named for Meyer. An elementary school and a foundation on the East Coast were both named for Eugene I. Meyer.

UC Berkeley has the only full-time university carillonist in the United States. Routinely the 61 bells ring out in song at the hands of the carillonist in a glassed-off room within the tower's observation deck. You can watch. One of the massive bells in the carillon was cast with a bas-relief of bears by the famed Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa. A crater on Mercury was named for Asawa as was a school in San Francisco. The carillon is really a lovely experience.

Peder Sather was a Norwegian fisherman immigrant who moved to New York City in 1832. He worked his way into the confidence of the banking firm of Drexel & Co to get a substantial loan to start a bank in San Francisco in 1850, just as the gold rush was revving up. Eventually, his firm became the Bank of California, which was deeply involved with mining. It was a rags-to-riches story. He became one of California's richest men during the Gilded Age. Though he had little education he became very involved in founding the Berkeley campus. Much of his fortune went to establishing public works. The Sather Gate was built after his death and Jane Sather died before the Sather Tower was completed. Toponymic narcissism, when applied with taste and sparingly, can add personality and historical context to the environment we use on a daily basis. It is fun to know the story behind our places.

Take a walk with Birkenstock.
— Mick

09/25/2026

Just a little personality test, clog edition ✨ Tell us yours!

09/18/2026

Zermatt Shearling Slippers. Birkenstock socks. No notes from us! 💙

I lied, just one note - slippers, socks, and other cozy essentials are back in stock at Footprints!👣

https://footprints.com/collections/slippers

09/04/2026

Our Labor Day weekend sale is live! 👣

Select discontinued styles and colors are now an additional 20% off—but only for a limited time. Shop your favorites using the link below!

https://footprints.com/collections/extra-20-off-sale

Sale ends Monday, September 7th at 11:59 p.m. CST.

08/28/2026

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
— President Dwight Eisenhower

I am old enough to remember standing on a curb and waving as President Eisenhower's motorcade whizzed by. Such a thrill at the time. My buddy Skip's parents pushed Skip under the rope line, much to the Secret Service's distress, so he could shake the President's hand. Ike's boyhood home is less than a couple of hours' drive west of our store. He was the third son born to David and Elizabeth Eisenhower; they had seven sons in total. Their home is evidence of the family's modest means. Eisenhower always emphasized the value of his Kansas roots. Therefore, of all the Presidents, my connection with Eisenhower is the strongest.

This Presidential Library was in the news recently when the director was forced to resign over a spat with the current administration regarding the gifting of one of Eisenhower's swords to King Charles III during his recent state visit. The sword rightly remains in the collection, but the former director is now gone. The 22-acre campus includes not only the final resting place for both the President and Mamie Eisenhower, but also 70,000 artifacts, 335,000 photographs, and 30 million pages of historical records. It is a world-class research facility, museum, and library. It is well worth a visit. You can gain a better understanding of the man and his times. He wasn't perfect. He didn't make enough progress with civil rights, let McCarthyism fester too long, and oversaw the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran. However, you come away understanding that Ike was driven by duty, honor, and country, which his family and West Point drilled into him. He did his best.

Presidential libraries explain how the political pendulum swings back and forth. Eisenhower ended 20 years of Democratic control of the White House; after 8 years, JFK replaced Ike. At the end of World War II, Ike was the consensus candidate for President. Both Democrats and Republicans wanted to nominate him; his party affiliation was unknown. His campaign slogan was simple: "I like Ike." At the end of Ike's tenure in the White House, the national debt was a paltry $289 billion, inflation remained steady below 2% and unemployment stayed below 4.5%. He practiced what he called "practical conservatism." Although he ardently believed in small government with a balanced budget, he did operate at a deficit, though modest when you consider the infrastructure projects like the Interstate Highway System and gearing up for the Cold War. Eisenhower's net worth was around $10 million in inflation-adjusted 2026 dollars. That is about the same as Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. He was an honorable man. Even so, the country wanted the "torch passed to a younger generation" and party. The upcoming midterms will provide plenty of data points indicating the pendulum's direction. Even the Kansas Senate race seems competitive. It will be interesting.

Take a walk with Birkenstock.
— Mick

https://footprints.com/blogs/take-a-walk-with-birkenstock/eisenhower-presidential-library-abilene-ks

08/21/2026

“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
— Pablo Picasso

The town of Salina, KS seems to be flourishing. If you walk up and down Santa Fe Avenue you will find a wonderful selection of intriguing retail stores and restaurants. The Stiefel Theatre seems to be the anchor. This Boller Brothers theater, built in 1931, was gloriously restored a few years ago and has drawn crowds to Salina with a packed schedule of shows ever since. Reportedly 70% of attendees are from out of town, which is great for the town's motels, restaurants, and stores. There is a wonderful Arts Center downtown. An ongoing mural festival has brought world-class muralists to adorn the bare walls of storefronts, grain elevators, and warehouses with colorful, thought-provoking works of art. The effort has wonderfully and colorfully transformed the town. A job well done.

On the other hand, the city has reportedly spent $800,000 on legal fees over a dispute regarding a mural on my favorite hamburger stand, The Cozy Inn. This restaurant only has six stools at the counter inside. There are just three items on the menu: burgers, chips, and soda. They have been serving up their uniquely styled burgers since 1922. They wanted to participate in the mural movement taking place around them. A whimsical scene depicted flying saucers resembling hamburgers squirting ketchup on the north side of their building. The controversy stemmed from: Is it a sign or is it art? Is it a violation of a sign ordinance, or is the city's order to stop that mural a violation of the Cozy Inn's First Amendment rights? So far, the lower courts have found in favor of the tiny hamburger stand. And their mural colorfully continues to enhance the north wall and the walk-up order window.

Check out Salina's murals and grab some of the world-famous burgers.

Take a walk with Birkenstock.
— Mick

https://footprints.com/blogs/take-a-walk-with-birkenstock/murals-of-salina-ks

Address

1339 Massachusetts Street
Lawrence, KS
66044

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm
Saturday	10am - 6pm

Telephone

+17858417027

Website

http://www.footprints.com/

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