Longmont Museum launches free mobile app for historic downtown walking tour - Longmont Times-Call

People looking to explore Longmont’s history will have the chance to step back in time and envision a Main Street where James Cash “J.C.” Penney tried his hand at running a meat market in 1898 and a Prussian immigrant built a fancy hotel in 1880 that would later be known for its ghost sightings.

Elite Barbers circa 1920. Longmont Museum has launched a historic Longmont walking tour mobile App. (Courtesy of Longmont Museum)

The Longmont Museum launched the Longmont Walking Tour Mobile App on Monday, seeking to give people an easy and free way to explore the city’s history. Content for the mobile tour was developed by Erik Mason, the Longmont Museum’s curator of history, according to a news release from the museum. While the app will offer a safe activity during the coronavirus pandemic, Mason said the museum has been working on creating a walking tour mobile app since last year.

Those who listen to the free tour, offered in English and Spanish, can explore the downtown, where they will find out how factors like the agricultural boom and establishment of the railroad shaped Main Street’s economy, the release said. Through the tour, people can explore the Dickens Opera House, where James Cash “J.C”. Penney bought a partnership in a butcher’s shop in 1898 after spending his life savings of $300, according to the Longmont Museum.

The tour also touches on the Masonic Temple fire in 1905 and the riches-to-rags story of George Zweck, a Prussian immigrant who built the Zweck Hotel in 1880. The hotel, at 301 Main St., is rumored to be haunted, according to local legend.

The mobile app was intended to be an addition to the in-person walking tours the museum offers in the spring and fall, Mason said. Tickets for the Longmont Museum’s in-person walking tours typically sell out fast, usually in a couple of days. This year, the museum was still able to host spring walking tours with smaller groups of eight people. Normally the tour offers up to 15 spots per tour. The museum is planning to host in-person walking tours again in the fall. Mason said official dates for the tours have not yet been announced.

The mobile tour app was created in coordination with the Longmont Downtown Development Authority and Visit Longmont.

Kimberlee McKee, the executive director for the Longmont Downtown Development Authority, said the mobile app promotes the downtown by getting “feet on the street.” When people see the downtown, it almost always leads to the discovery of a new business, beverage or dish that people haven’t tried before, McKee said.

“We are hoping, at this time of COVID-19, to give people a good recreation activity, where they can social distance and explore in our community,” McKee said. “I think this offers a fantastic way for that to happen.”

McKee said the Longmont Downtown Development Authority wanted to work in coordination with the museum, because it recognizes the importance of the city’s history. McKee noted that downtown Longmont was designated as a national historic district in 2018.

“This walking tour shows how it has been the individuals that have built this community from the ground up,” McKee said. “It’s important to remember those that made a contribution before we were here and continue to do so today. It’s a perfect marriage of the past and present.”

Mikayla Adair, marketing and communications coordinator for Visit Longmont, said the tourist information center helped to promote the museum’s app for the mobile tour.

“We love the opportunity of being able to give folks who visit Longmont or are new to the area more information at their fingertips,” Adair said. “There are a lot of visitors who are history buffs and while I wouldn’t say the app solely will bring about more visitors, I think it is a fun and engaging way to learn more about Longmont when they are here and another activity for them to do downtown.”

The Longmont Museum is also planning on developing additional mobile walking tours that will explore the history of Latinos in the area and World War II veterans’ fight to have signs taken down that read, “White Trade Only.” A mobile tour focusing on entrepreneurial and innovative women in Longmont is also being planned, according to the release.

Mason encouraged people to check out the tour and appreciate Longmont’s many historic buildings, which contain architecture from the 1880s and 1920s.

“The great thing about the mobile app is you can do at any time and it’s free,” Mason said.

The text and audio for the walking tour app are available at tourlongmont.oncell.com. People do not have to download anything to access the virtual tour.

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Longmont Museum launches free mobile app for historic downtown walking tour - Longmont Times-Call
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