A state capital needs a good cobbler, and an award-winning craftsman like Lee Card needs plenty of foot traffic, which is why he relocated his shoe repair shop in downtown Harrisburg.
“I need more walking traffic, and downtown has people walking,” said Card, a third-generation shoe repairman.
Card opened Capitol Shoe Repair at 202 N. 2nd St., in mid-August. He wore a black apron as he and his 18-year-old son, Alex, worked on shoes.
He cited economics as a reason why the art of shoe-making and repair has diminished–many shoes are cheaply made and inexpensive enough to buy new ones.
Shoe repair requires skill, said the 40-year-old Card, a former Marine and a National Guardsman who served two tours in Iraq. A certain level of physics is required to ensure a shoe is balanced for a comfortable fit.
“You have to have a little bit of an artistic eye for it,” he said.
Card, who started shining shoes as a boy in his father’s Lemoyne shop, bought the business in 1998. He’s a cobbler who enjoys his work and has won three regional awards for his shoe repairs. “My men’s half soles were the best in the nation,” he said, proudly.
Capitol Shoe Repair, 202 N. 2nd St., 717-213-4140; Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
