Tour.jpg
These are some of the point on the Huntsville and Area Historical Society built heritage tour.

New app will give users a historical view of Huntsville

They say knowing your history can give you the tools to shape your future, and the Huntsville and Area Historical Society may be able to help with that.

The Society has managed to digitize its paper historical tour, a tour it has had for more than 20 years, with the creation of a free app available to both Android and iPhone users. The app contains 26 stops of historical interest from Chaffey Street to the Train Station with plans to add more.

“We’ve created it in a loop so it starts at Town Hall where there’s free WIFI; it’s flexible so people can skip stops or even visit it virtually from home. It’s native to phones which means you don’t need data once you’ve downloaded it. It’s on your phone. That’s another bonus for people who are travelling,” explained Katrina Cotterchio at the June General Committee meeting.

She explained that the app features GPS-activated stops so that once a person approaches a point of interest, their phone will automatically play an audio recording of the site and photos. “It’s very accessible for users. It has an audio voice-over, so for people who are visually impaired, it will read the tour out to you as you go. It’s self-paced, you can skip stops… you can choose to go as far along the tour as you want or shorten it if you can’t make it that far.”

Cotterchio, who appeared before the committee with Society representative Tricia Markle, explained that the app will also be multilingual. Their presentation was among several to the committee seeking funding support for various projects.

“We have worked very hard on this, and can’t wait to share with you the vibrant and beautiful built heritage our town has to offer!!” notes the Society on its Facebook page. “We will be adding MANY more stops to the tour over the coming months.” Users are asked to use the feedback form in the app and let the Society know which stops they would like to see added.

You can check out the tour, HERE.

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2 Comments

  1. FRANK C VAN DER STAAY says:

    What a wonderful idea to help tourists as well as locals learn more about our town!

  2. John Rivière-Anderson says:

    Many thanks for your dedication and hard work on this wonderful means to enjoy the built history of our town! Bravo!