A tarnished golden boot could be given some much-needed TLC as part of an Aberdeen restaurant’s makeover.
The Milne and Munro bootmakers operated from 263 Union Street for decades from about 1900.
It’s not known exactly when the golden boot was put up there.
But adverts going back to at least the 1960s highlight it as a unique selling point of the shoe shop.
And historian Diane Morgan’s 2008 book The Granite Mile calls it “one of Union Street’s favourite icons”.
Golden boot has been ever-present fixture on changing street
In later years, the shop underwent various changes, with Jones carrying on the footwear tradition there for a while.
It closed in 2015, relocating to Union Square, as a Hallmark card shop moved in.
After lying empty for four years, it was revived last November as the West African Gidi Grill restaurant.
But the boot remains, as a lasting reminder of the past.
And now, Gidi Grill owner Mobolaji Adeniyi wants to pay homage to the site’s past by restoring some of its sparkle…
The Dundee-based businessman wants to overhaul the front of the diner, with new signage, window graphics and a fresh coat of paint.
At the moment, he says its all-black exterior isn’t quite enticing as many passersby as he would like.
Here’s how the 263 Union Street building looks now:
And here is how the business wants to revamp it:
Union Street’s golden boot ‘not very attractive’ these days
As part of the work, he wants to give the boot a polish, applying a fresh coat of shiny gold paint with a black finish for the sole.
Mo told us he hopes to secure funding from the council for the project.
He added: “We will rebrand first, to make it more colourful and attractive.
“And then we will look to refurbish the boot.
“As part of that, I would like to do some digging and research into it.
“Right now, it’s not very attractive either.”
Do YOU know more about the golden boot on Union Street? Let us know in our comments section below
Our own foray into the archives revealed that George C Macdougall became a leading figure in the American “boot and shoe trade” after emigrating at the turn of the century.
After his death in 1950, the P&J reported that he began his career with Milne and Munro.
The plan could appear symbolic of what the new Our Union Street group aims to achieve with the entire Granite Mile.
The new initiative has been set up to restore the once-busy shopping street to its former glory while seeking the public’s help as much as possible.
You can see the plans here.
Conversation