A.)
The USS Slater – The USS Slater United States Navy destroyer escort that served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II. The are guided tours of the ship that are offered upon visiting the ship. It is also listed as a national historic landmark.
The Olde English Pub and Pantry – The Olde English Pub and Pantry was originally built in the 1730’s as the Quackenbush House. It has been converted into an British style pub serving English pub food and a variety of drinks. The building was originally built to be the home of revolutionary war general Hendrick Quackenbush.
“The Olde English Pub & Pantry ~ About.” 2016. Accessed March 1. http://www.theoldeenglish.com/about.html
“Quackenbush House.” 2016. Accessed March 1. http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/loc/qhouse.html
The Battle of Henry Johnson Memorial – Henry Johnson was an African American infantryman in World War I. The monument was made for him for uncommon valor in combat. Henry Johnson was also awarded the purple heart.
Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site – Schuyler mansion was the home of Philip J. Schuyler. Schuyler was a renowned revolutionary war general, US senator and business entrepreneur. The historic site offers tours and special rates for K-12 field trips.
Historic Cherry Hill – Cherry hill was home to five generations of the Van Rensselaer family. The house is home to more than 70,000 artifacts that tell a rich and diverse of Albany from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. The site offers many tours as well as special activities including behind the scenes looks of the preservation of the house and its artifacts.
B.) Google Maps estimates that the walking tour will take approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes.
C.) The organizing theme for this walking tour is the military history in downtown Albany. There is a large amount of American military history located in downtown Albany, ranging from old buildings, to historic monuments, to a military naval vessel. The audience for this walking tour is either for young couples with children, or for a school trip focusing on American military history. This tour would appeal more to males than to females. Most of the stops on the tour provide examples of the building style and the types of places that would have existed in historical Albany. The stops will also give an example of the types of structures used for military purposes, such as the Washington Avenue Armory, and the USS Slater. The biggest takeaway that walkers will get from this tour would be the diverse amount of military history that can be found in Albany.
D.)
Battle of Henry Johnson Memorial
E.) One of the questions that I need to answer is how I can target a more specific audience for the walking tour. I also need to find a way to connect all of my sites to a more central theme more specific than early american military history. I would also like to see if there is a way to break up the tour more so that it does not appear to be quite as long while walking it.
I have The Armory as one of my locations. I find it interesting that you chose it to relate to a military background, whereas I view it as entertainment.
I think that the information about The Old English Pub is pretty interesting. I’ve been there before, so it’s cool to know the history of this building. I like how you added the Armory to relate to a military background, because most people only think of it as entertainment. I think you did a great job, and your tour is really informative!
Your tour is very similar to mine in the fact that the locations are varied. Many of my locations focused more on their significance in modern times, but two of my locations are similar to the Washington Ave armory because they were constructed for purposes that we wouldn’t really think of in modern times. However, I was wondering if here was any commonality between all of your locations. Great start!
You may want to focus your tour on a more specific time period–right now you’ve got three 18th century locations, one 19th century location, and two 20th century locations. I’m partial to the 18th century, so I’d suggest focusing on that and maybe adding in the Pemberton house (https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/17223899683/in/photolist-yby6te-sf1ZiD-seQ7vY-rKT339-frhfWm-rmjHSB-fx3MFm, https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/17221777714/in/photolist-yby6te-sf1ZiD-seQ7vY-rKT339-frhfWm-rmjHSB-fx3MFm) the Pearl St Schuyler house (not the mansion) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/9085873175/in/photolist-eQTtxM-D8xs4j-D2QQnP-B1ZP3g-eSprjB-mSp66i-pHmvqs-ovj5ge), the Albany independence bell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/25561932146/in/photolist-fhdVie-fht9xE-EWPzS3-D33LHN-qxg1mr-vMWYUo) or even just looking for some 18th century images of the area near some of your locations like this one: http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16694coll26/id/1161/rec/1 or some of these: http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p16694coll26/searchterm/unknown/field/date/mode/any/conn/and/order/date/ad/asc
It’s going to take a little digging to get your other locations figured out if you focus on a time period, but it’ll give your visitor a more cohesive narrative to follow–Albany during/just after the revolution, as opposed to, lots of military things happened sort of in Albany.