Footwear coverings

Katharine A. Untch <katy [at] argsf__com> writes

>An historic site recently asked me "who really uses those?" when
>referring to footwear coverings ("booties") sometimes used for
>visitors when touring historic buildings. So, I thought we might try
>finding out.  If you know of any sites using these protective foot
>coverings, could you let me know which sites?

Blue slip-on booties to cover shoes must be used by all visitors to
the main house at Ruthven Park National Historic Site in Cayuga,
Ontario, Canada. <URL:http://www.ruthvenpark.ca/index.html> Visitors
wearing heavy boots must remove them and only wear the booties.  The
requirement is to preserve the original finish to the wood floors,
which has not been otherwise altered since the house was built in
the 1840s, and to protect carpet that was added by later occupants
of the house.  So far it's the only example I've encountered in
Ontario.

Sandra Lawrence
Conservator
Niagara on the Lake


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:28
                 Distributed: Friday, October 26, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-21-28-004
                                  ***