These boots are made for celebrating: Thursday marks 40 years for ginormous North Star sculpture

Happy anniversary, North Star Boots!

SAN ANTONIO – Here’s an occasion you don’t hear about everyday: A birthday for a pair of boots.

Of course, we’re not talking about just any boots -- we’re referring to the World’s Largest Cowboy Boots, also known as the North Star Boots, which are celebrating 40 years as of Thursday.

Or perhaps, to phrase it more accurately, the North Star Mall family is the group “celebrating.”

The mall also plans to honor boot artist and creator Bob Wade with a limited-edition Fiesta Medal.

“The (mall) family was deeply saddened to learn of Wade’s … passing on Christmas Eve,” said Brenda Crawford, senior general manager of North Star Mall. “In his honor and memory, we are creating a commemorative Fiesta Medal that will be available in February.

“The boots, much like the artist who made them, are larger than life and have a special place in San Antonio’s heart. Bob will always be an important part of North Star Mall history. May Bob’s legacy live on through his sculptures.”

Mickey Mouse with the North Star Boots (North Star Mall photo)

The boots are considered a pop culture icon. They’re on the mall’s northern side. The World’s Largest Cowboy Boots stand at an impressive 35-feet, three inches tall. They’re 30 feet long and 9 feet wide. They weigh 10,000 pounds.

Wade had said each boot could hold upwards of 300,000 gallons of beer, just in case anyone was so inclined as to fill them.

Wade was 36 years old in 1979 when he was contacted by the Washington Project for the Arts out of Washington, D.C. to create a Texas-themed sculpture to be featured in an empty lot, just blocks from the White House.

Built on site, Wade created two structures that in 2016 became Guinness World Record-certified Cowboy Boots – the largest such sculpture in the world.

Wade became known for several other giant creations, including a 40-foot long iguana that now sits atop the Fort Worth Zoo, dancing frogs that can be found on the roof of a Taco Cabana in Dallas and a 70-foot high saxophone in Houston, the mall said.

The North Star Boots (North Star Mall photo)