The smell of fresh leather, shelves filled with boxes of new shoes and sales associates waiting to help you find the perfect fit. Many remember the experience of walking inside a Parker & Monroe store, a once beloved shoe business in St. John’s, N.L. that dates back nearly 150 years. Started by two local businessmen, they grew a shoe manufacturing business and had stores across the city to sell their footwear. While it’s now a piece of history, many Newfoundlanders have fond memories of working and shopping at Parker & Monroe.

On the right foot

Parker & Monroe was founded by James Francis Parker and Daniel Monroe in 1880 in St. John’s, N.L. Together, they established a shoe manufacturing plant on Alexander Street in downtown St. John’s, which, at its peak, produced up to 100,000 shoes each year. To sell their footwear, they opened several Parker & Monroe stores around town. The exact number of stores is unknown, but respondents in a location-based Facebook group noted shops on Water Street, Lemarchant Road, Churchill Square and inside the Avalon Mall and the Village Shopping Centre.

The company remained a family business that was passed down through generations of the Parker family. Representing the second generation, John Parker eventually took over the business from his father, James. It’s believed that Jay Parker was the last owner of the family shoe operation.

A legacy in every step

While a representative of Parker & Monroe was unavailable for comment, Newfoundlanders shared fond memories of working and shopping at the former family business in a location-based Facebook group. Many remember family working at the stores and factory, as well as shopping at Parker & Monroe for shoes to wear to school or on other special occasions. One commenter remembers an employee at the Water Street location who custom-dyed satin shoes, which she had done for her bridesmaids in the ‘60s by bringing in a swatch of their dresses for reference.

Inside each store, customers could find a variety of trending styles of boots and shoes, primarily made of leather. Some credit Parker & Monroe for sparking their love of footwear, and others remember the distinct smell of leather inside the store. Jeannie Mugford says she and her mother shopped at Parker & Monroe for their product quality and customer service. She commented, “My mother took me there and got the best service; they were so polite. Quality and customer satisfaction speak volumes.”

To ensure everyone found the perfect fit, many say employees sized their feet with a metal measuring device. Others, like Arthur Parsons, remember a time when they used an X-ray machine to see how shoes fit. “You peered into a round, raised opening on top to see the actual X-ray,” he explained. “As you can imagine, that disappeared by the early 1950s.”

 Once the largest shoe retailer on the island, the Parker & Monroe factory ceased production in 1949, and its final store closed in 1988. However, it appears to have left a lasting legacy, with generations of Newfoundlanders having fond memories of what once was.

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