Vans recently linked with Eagle Rock retro arcade bar Walt’s for a day of history, Steve Van Doren-grilled hot dogs, and commemoration for what was once an early House of Vans store.

Vans and Walt’s Bar collaborated on a pop-up replica installation of the Vans store that previously stood at the space between 1968 and 1990 and is now home to the bar. The event included sales of a limited-edition Walt’s x Vans T-shirt and shoe, plaque dedication led by Van Doren, and a talk by Van Doren and Vans Archivist and Historian Catherine Acosta on the building’s history.

Acosta said the building at 4680 Eagle Rock Blvd. was one of Vans’ earliest stores, opening two years after the footwear company’s start.

“It was originally known as ‘Store #14,’ and while researching this former location, I was able to find rarely seen photographs of it dating from the late ’70s and discover previously unknown advertisements for it in local newspapers,” Acosta said. “These archival materials, and most significantly, a 1973 photo of the store, inspired the design of the pop-up installation.”

Vans production designer and artist Alexis Ross created the print for the event’s shoe, the Vans Authentic 44 DX. The style originally launched in 1966.

The limited-edition product sold out the day of the event. However, the installation remains up for about the next month.

Vans President Kevin Bailey told Shop Eat Surf earlier this year the company aimed to refocus more of its marketing spend around local events, shelving other investments such as its former title sponsorship deal of the US Open of Surfing in a bid to get back to its roots.

“Vans was always great at the grassroots side of events, and I think COVID blocked us for a while and we lost a little bit of the ‘Steve Van Doren out in the masses’ (impact) with these events,” Bailey said at the time. “This gives us an opportunity now to get back to that.”

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Kari Hamanaka can be reached at [email protected].