Category Archives: Abandoned Shoes

I found this sneaker near a lampshade in Garfield on Feb. 27.

I found these Air Jordans outside the Garfield water tower on February 27, 2012.

I found these cowboy boots several yards apart in Garfield on February 27, 2012.

I found this boot hiding in a trash can under a car on Gross Street on February 13, 2012.

I found these shoes waiting for the bus on Liberty Avenue on February 2, 2012.

I found these stylish boots in Polish Hill on January 7, climbing their way to Bigelow.

I found these shoes at the Mon Wharf on New Years Day. They were trying to decide whether to take the Polar Bear Plunge and risk getting swept all the way to Illinois.

I found this sneaker at the edge of a leaf pile in Garfield on the morning of Dec. 30, 2011.

I found this old Nike Air hiding in a small construction site in Bloomfield on Dec. 26, guarding the plywood and gravel until the rest of the crew returned from their holiday.

I found this shoeless sole in the Strip District on December 24. I imagine there is someone walking around unaware, wondering why his right foot is aching.

I found these boots on the corner of Pearl and Liberty on December 21, just three minutes after finding the previous pair. They were reading the daily headlines as I passed.

I found these shoes on Dec. 21, perched on the edge of a garbage can in Friendship Park, and I thought, “Don’t do it, shoes! Don’t jump! Other feet will come along! I promise!”

I found these shoes in a parking garage beneath downtown on December 15, propped against this railing, the right where the left should be and the left where the right should be, each eyeing the opposite direction for a pair … Continue reading →

When I first found these shoes on September 20, one leaning against the wall of a house on Pearl Street and the other standing up straight on the sidewalk beside it, I imagined someone kicked them off to crawl through … Continue reading →

I found these sandals on Penn Avenue on August 19, situated just so on the base on this lamp post. At first, I assumed the woman climbed up on this cylinder to get away from something crawling or flooding below, … Continue reading →

I found this silver sandal in Garfield on August 19. After its abandonment, I imagine a small silver cloud drifted over it to dispense a silver rainstorm upon it alone. The cement dried quickly, as cement does, but the shoe … Continue reading →

I found this laceless, tongue-wagging guy in Polish Hill on August 14, just before five o’clock, and my best guess is that it was a skateboarding maneuver gone horribly wrong.

I found this Converse All-Star around 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 14, at Friendship Park. It’s obvious what happened here: a man, compelled to mimic the squirrels, climbed up this telephone pole, only to have his shoelace catch on a … Continue reading →

I found this Kidget sandal, a righty, on Friday, August 12 in Garfield, at 12:48 p.m. Unlike the majority of abandoned kids’ shoes, which are arranged post-abandonment like gallery pieces, this one is splayed across a patch of gray dirt. … Continue reading →

I found these stylish shoes in Friendship on Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 4:04 p.m. I imagine the woman wearing them leaning against this tree, bored to tears, waiting for the day to send her something interesting, when a white … Continue reading →

I found these shoes outside West Penn Hospital on Thursday, July 28. One is facing the street and the other is facing the door, and I imagine the owner faced a moment of indecision. Return to hear the diagnosis or … Continue reading →

I found these boots in Shadyside on Wednesday, July 27. Although they have clearly been abandoned, as evidenced by the dumpster, they still stand at attention, as though waiting, with utter certainty, that their feet shall return. I imagine them … Continue reading →

I found this right flip-flop on Monday, July 18, in Bloomfield. Because it is accompanied by a meter, a letter, a coupon and a sprouting weed, I imagine that the wearer came outside to do some chores — pay gas … Continue reading →

I found this flipped over sandal in Bloomfield on July 17. It’s chewed up along its inner edge and the cork is busted in back, but otherwise there aren’t many clues to decipher. Based on those two facts alone, though, … Continue reading →

I found this sneaker on a July 13, under a staircase leading up to the Hill District. It’s among some assorted garbage — a crumpled M&Ms wrapper and an emptied Slurpie cup — but it’s hard to know whether the garbage … Continue reading →

I found these orange Nike sneakers around half past noon on Saturday, July 2. My initial assumption was buyer’s remorse. The wearer got one shoe laced up before deciding he couldn’t possibly pull off orange, regardless of how fast they … Continue reading →

I found this shoe on Monday, June 30, on Friendship Avenue. It’s a right shoe, balanced on the curb beside a luggage tag that bears the number of a flight between Washington DC and Charleston, as well as a sticker … Continue reading →

I found these L.A. Gear walking sneakers on June 26, a Sunday in the mid to upper 60s. They are not so much abandoned as, I believe, left behind. Save for the slight scuffing around the toes, these shoes are … Continue reading →

I found these shoes twenty seconds apart under the railroad trestle at 33rd Street in the Strip District on June 14, a Tuesday afternoon in the mid-60s. The first is a black croc beside a water bottle and the second … Continue reading →

I found this sandal on Sunday, June 12 in Shadyside. It offers a few clues: underpronation, high arches and polka dots. The rest is mystery.

I found this argyle sneaker, a righty, on Smallman Street in the Strip District on Saturday June 4, during a stretch of mild to warm weather that topped out in the mid-80s. It’s facing Downtown, as is the cigarette butt … Continue reading →

First, a fellow abandoned shoe chronicler — writing entirely in French, no less — included my initial posting in the Abandoned Shoe gallery among his ongoing display of shoes. Please return the favor by viewing his collection of shoes left … Continue reading →

I found this little sneaker on Sunday, May 22, near Morrow Park. While I don’t want to ruin it with words, I should note that a wise friend added the quarter, for scale.

I found this sandal, a lefty, on Saturday, May 21, in Friendship. The signature tread says “Birkenstock,” figuratively, and the snap says “Birkenstock” literally (but you have to zoom in pretty close to read it). I went to the Birkenstock … Continue reading →

I found this lone heel on a Saturday morning in the Strip District, May 7, 2011. Is it the remnants of a rowdy Friday night, or something more sinister? We’ll give the wearer the benefit of the doubt and assume … Continue reading →

If a boy leaves one shoe in an intersection, does that make him more likely or less likely to leave the other shoe nearby at some point in the future? Does an abandoned shoe suggest cavalier feet, no less attached … Continue reading →

I found these on Walnut Street in Shadyside on March 24, a day in the high 30s. They are under a bench, but facing the wrong way. Either the woman sat down, slipped them off and turned them around, or … Continue reading →

I found this white sneaker on March 12, a very lovely Saturday. It was on the far side of Stanton Avenue, the side of the street without a sidewalk, set upon a cinderblock.

Sometimes shoes are abandoned only temporarily, or perhaps merely stored outside. I found the matching black Converse in the first two pictures about twenty paces apart while walking down Graham Street on February 2 of this year. And then on March … Continue reading →

What circumstances lead someone to lose a shoe in winter? I found the first of these on December 20, 2010. It’s a child-size flipflop — the left one — upside in the snow. Why was a child wearing a flip-flop … Continue reading →