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The Old Woman in the Shoe is a giant concrete shoe in Benson Park, the town-owned park in Hudson, New Hampshire, on the site of the former Benson's Wild Animal Farm. The Town of Hudson's park rules ask visitors not to climb on it. In 2010 New Hampshire Magazine reported that a local builder and volunteers were repairing and repainting it after years of vandalism, with a new observation deck.
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Benson Park giant shoe house (Old Woman in a Shoe)
This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Site-level location · 42.7661° N, 71.4060° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Among the old animal barns and trails of Hudson's Benson Park stands a giant concrete shoe, from the nursery tale of the old woman who lived in one. The park occupies the grounds of Benson's Wild Animal Farm, which animal trainer and dealer John T. Benson opened to the public in 1924, according to the Town of Hudson. The park closed in 1987; the 166-acre site is now a town park.
In 2010 New Hampshire Magazine called the shoe the only kitschy remnant of the park's child-centred past, with giant gashes. A local builder and volunteers were then painting over graffiti, patching holes and building a new observation deck. To deter trespassers, nobody would be allowed inside; a kitchen scene was to be set up behind plexiglass.
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PRACTICAL
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Look at the shoe from the park paths; the town's rules ask visitors not to climb on it. The park also has trails, a playground and restrooms.
ACCESS
Benson Park, 19 Kimball Hill Road, Hudson, is town-owned and open daily, with closing times that vary by season (9 p.m. May to August, 5 p.m. November to February). In 2010 New Hampshire Magazine reported that the shoe's interior would no longer be open to entry.
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