Places of Legend

An experiment in immersive interpretation and digital mapping

The Places of Legend podcast is Coherit’s own experiment in utilizing new media and a new web-based mapping and inventory application for the purposes of public interpretation. Described on ITunes as a podcast “for those who like their history with a dash of mystery, lore, and legend,” it combines long form narrative about heritage sites and the people who made them significant with additional data, images, recommendations for further reading, and high-resolution mapping through an innovative use of the open source Arches™ cultural heritage inventory software developed by the Getty Conservation Institute and the World Monument Fund.

Places of Legend logo
Places of Legend Home Page

The Challenges

  • Online approaches to heritage interpretation are often didactic and text-heavy, resulting in a lack of appeal to tech-savvy millennials and younger generations.
  • The growing use of 3D models of heritage sites represent a significant investment in digital services and are rapidly superseded by new, ever more realistic modeling techniques, resulting in rapid obsolescence and significant budget drains.
  • Limited budgets for off-site and web-based interpretation make frequent updating difficult, leaving website content static for extended periods, resulting in a lack of return visits after the site has been viewed by potential visitors just a few times.

Our Work

  • We crafted place-based immersive audio narratives that combined immersive sound effects and period music with dramatic storytelling, as an antidote to dry facts, figures, and dates.
  • We developed a free podcast, utilizing cost-effective technology, to reach a younger demographic and expand the audience for heritage and history content.
  • We linked the place-based podcast episodes to additional images, information, and locational data in a customized version of Arches™ heritage mapping software to demonstrate the platform's adaptability for public interpretation purposes.

Results

  • 18 episodes of the “Places of Legend” podcast, released on a bi-weekly schedule from January to August 2018
  • Promotion and distribution of the podcast on popular platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio, as well as an RSS feed accessible to Android and iOS podcast apps and podcatchers.
  • A publicly-accessible Places of Legend website, using a custom-designed and adapted installation of the Arches open-source mapping and database software.
  • 6000 total episode downloads of podcast episodes, from listeners in 46 countries, using desktop applications, tablets, and smartphones.
  • 3000 visits to the Places of Legend website and map, from users in 61 countries, using desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
  • 79% of the website users were in the prime 18-44 age demographic, often under-represented in cultural heritage audiences.
Places of Legend Home Page

Each historic site within the Places of Legend Arches website is presented as an investigative case with related images, notes, maps, books, and audio files.

Selected Episodes

Custer's Last Stand
Case 5: Fear and Loathing on the Little Bighorn

At a spot overlooking the Little Bighorn River, ghosts still inhabit the site of “Custer’s Last Stand.” The responsibility for that bloody encounter between the U.S. Army and Lakota and Cheyenne warriors has long been a matter of bitter debate. Explore some surprising evidence unearthed by archaeologists that casts the event in a totally new light.

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Excavation of the Griswold vampire grave
Case 9: The Vampire of Griswold, Connecticut

Did vampires roam the swamps and forests of early New England? A grotesquely vandalized grave discovered in the small town of Griswold, Connecticut, revealed a ghoulish secret that had been concealed for almost 200 years.

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Annie Edson Taylor and Niagara Falls
Case 16: Annie goes over the Falls

Who dreamt up the stunt of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel? Through the 1800s, countless daredevils and would-be heroes attempted all sorts of stunts at the Falls and in the rapids below. But the first to go over the Falls—and survive—did not fit the usual mold of a thrill-seeking daredevil. She was a 63-year-old music teacher named Annie Edson Taylor, who quickly became a national celebrity.

Listen

Schedule your free strategy session

For a free 30-minute strategy session on how to take advantage of new methods for tackling pressing heritage challenges, please complete the form below and a member of our team will reach out to schedule your complimentary problem-solving session.