Chuck Taylors

The world headquarters of Converse is just a few miles from my home. It's located on Boston's Freedom Trail in a space that occupies over 214,000 square feet spread over ten floors. This glass behemoth overlooks the harbor, enjoying stunning views in every direction.

I never had a thing for Chuck Taylors. I am more of a New Balance kind of a girl. But every time my wife drives over the Zakim Bridge and passes the gleaming monolith she looks out at the building and audibly sighs "ah, heaven......." Her devotion to Converse is both fulsome and longstanding.

What many folks don't know is that hanging in the lobby of this same building is a one-of-a-kind chandelier. With bulbs that shine through translucent soles, it is comprised of 200 Converse sneakers dangling from a towering canopy. If that isn't heavenly, I don't know what is.

"I always wore sneakers when I wanted to. It was always about being comfortable and being myself." – Whoopi Goldberg