Springfield Cultural District Releases Video Map for Walking Tour

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Central Cultural District (SCCD) launched a new video map to accompany the Downtown Springfield Cultural Walking Tour. The tour, first introduced in the summer of 2015, is a tool designed to be used by visitors or residents to learn more about the city’s architectural, historic, and cultural highlights. Printed maps are available at all downtown hotels, visitor’s centers, and cultural institutions, and is also available digitally on the SCCD website, springfieldculture.org.

“Sometimes even residents are unaware of the beautiful assets we have throughout the Cultural District, and these videos are a living, breathing way for everyone to connect with the people at our historic and cultural landmarks, not just the buildings,” said Morgan Drewniany, SCCD director.

The video map brings a new dimension to the walking tour. Viewers gain insight into the history of each location on the map and have the chance to learn an unexpected fact about the venue or building. Each video is presented by a member of the Springfield Central Cultural District on location, and is under two minutes, to allow viewing while out and about.

There are 12 videos linked to the Walking Tour. Kay Simpson, president of the Springfield Museums; John Doleva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame; Stacey Church, general manager of the MassMutual Center; and Peter Salerno, executive director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, are just a few of the highlighted speakers, among many others. The project was funded, in part, by a Springfield Cultural Council grant, and was produced by Focus Springfield.