Bronze boot adorns Shoe headquarters

If there was any question as to whether a Red Wing boot was tough, there certainly isn’t anymore.

Red Wing Shoe Co. recently sent one of its 877 style boots up the road to Stillwater, Minn., to be bronzed. Through a process called original burnout, the boot was encased in a mold and burned at 1,500 degrees so that it would disintegrate and leave behind a mold in which molten bronze could be poured.

At such a high temperature, the process is usually completed in a single try. Enter the 877.

The locally made boot had to be burned multiple times before it was eviscerated.

“It speaks to how tough and durable the boots are,” Shoe spokeswoman Kim Balega said.

Once completed, the bronze boot was sent back to Red Wing and now adorns the side of the Shoe’s corporate headquarters on Main Street.

“It’s a way to kind of just let people know this is our home base, this is where we are,” Balega said.

Although it wasn’t the very first style of boot produced by the Shoe, the 877 quickly became the most iconic boot after its introduction in the early 1950s. That’s why it was selected to be the newest building decoration, Balega noted.

Since they were using a strong and sturdy boot to begin with, it only made sense to mold the boot out of a strong substance as well. Bronze was an obvious choice, Balega said.

“It’ll be able to withstand the Minnesota weather and anything the state can throw at it.”

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