Actually the shoeshine trade lives on

Those were great days when shoe shines were popular, and shoe shine stands were plentiful: in barbershops, in building lobbies, train, bus, and airline stations. Everyone wore leather shoes, of which it was fashionable to keep them nice and shiny.

I used to get my haircut for 75 cents, and a shoe shine at the same place for 50 cents. And the shoe shine guys had style too-- both with the brushes, and certainly with the polish rag. I used to imitate them at home, and practice on my dad's shoes as well as my own. "Spit shining" was a real art.
 

Yes, those were the days and we all had our shoe shine kits. Plus the shoe repair shops all over town and the shoe shine chairs in barber shops in some public places like the court building or next to the magazine stand.
 
This brings back fond memories of DC's Union Station in the mid-1990s. The shoe shine stalls were always busy. I loved Union Station so much.
 
KSav said:
This brings back fond memories of DC's Union Station in the mid-1990s. The shoe shine stalls were always busy. I loved Union Station so much.
Click to expand...
Me too. I never saw DC's Union Station, but I saw many other of the great train stations in Pittsburgh, NYC, Cincinnati, Chicago, and of course Los Angeles. I wish train travel would come back the way it was in days gone by.
 
Somewhat 'paralleel'
There's a shoemaker at the strip mall down the way
and he wouldn't be in business...many years
if it were 'worth it'
 

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