Built in 1948 for York entrepreneur Mahlon Haines, known as "The Shoe Wizard," the 25-foot-high, 48-foot-long, shoe-shaped guesthouse promoted his chain of stores and is considered a notable example of mid-20th century programmatic architecture, in which functional buildings were shaped like objects or animals for advertising purposes. Visible from the Lincoln Highway, it became an icon of the historic coast-to-coast road. Seniors and honeymooners stayed there for free.