On March 16, 1966, in Anaheim, California @ 704 East Broadway Street, Paul Van Doren and 3 partners opened up their first ever store, and the Vans dream was born. The Van Doren Rubber Company was unique in that it manufactured shoes and sold them directly to the public. On that first morning they had 12 customers purchase shoes, which were made that same morning and available for pick up that same afternoon.
In 1979 Van’s introduced the #44 shoe, and with the help of skateboarders and BMX riders the Vans Slip-On became all the rage in Southern California. By the end of the 1970’s, Van’s had 70 stores in California and sold through dealers both nationally and internationally.
As the 1980’s rolled around Paul Van Doren began to take a lesser role in the company’s activities. Over this period, Vans started to create shoes for a number of sports to include; baseball, basketball, wrestling and skydiving in an effort to compete with large athletic shoe companies.
1998 is a successful year for Van’s in it opens it’s first one of a kind
46,000 square-foot indoor-outdoor Skatepark at “The Block” in Orange County, California. Vans makes initial public offering of stock, which is now traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
2004 Vans launches Vans Customs at www.vans.com allowing would-be fashion designers to create their won Classic Slip-ons utilizing hundreds of different color and pattern combinations. Vans stage what many consider to be the best bowl contest of all time, the inaugural
Pro-tec pool Party 2005 which took place in the replica of the legendry Combi Bowl at the Vans Skate Park at “the Block” at Orange County. The same year, the Vans Warped tour draws more than 680,00 punk fans during the summer, solidifying its position as America’s longest running
