Ground-breaking interactive history app launches in Parry Sound

PARRY SOUND, ON - June 8, 2018 - The Downtown Parry Sound Business Association and the Museum on Tower Hill  are excited to announce the launch of Parry Sound's coverage in On This Spot, an interactive history app.

Users who download the app will be able to view over 100 historical photos of Parry Sound and compare them to carefully restaged photos from the same perspective today. Using the in-app camera they can create their own then and now photos, allowing them to effectively superimpose themselves into historic photos of Parry Sound. Four walking tours will give unparalleled access to an enormous depth of local history.

The app's Parry Sound coverage launched June 8, to coincide with the beginning of the tourist season. The Parry Sound coverage was made possible through support from the Downtown Parry Sound Business Association, the Town of Parry Sound, the Museum on Tower Hill, and the Bayside Inn.

The historical photographs, which come from the collections of the Museum on Tower Hill and the private collection of Mike Morden, a local history enthusiast, date from the 1850s to the 1970s. The four walking tours examine different themes running through Parry Sound's history, including pioneer life in the 19th Century, Parry Sound's industrial history, tourism and steamships, and views from Tower Hill. They include many of Parry Sound's historic landmarks.

"Smartphones have the potential to make local history vastly more accessible and engaging," says On This Spot CEO Andrew Farris. "Now anyone with a smartphone can see their surroundings through the eyes of people a century or more ago, creating an exciting and tangible connection with the past. We've found this experience to be particularly popular with young people, and we believe interactive tools like this will become a necessity for heritage and tourism organizations in the years to come."

Parry Sound is now available in the On This Spot app alongside a growing list of Canadian cities including Vancouver, Winnipeg and Aurora. The app is free to download on Android and Apple smartphones and tablets. Download links can be found at www.onthisspot.ca.

The launch of the coverage is accompanied by the launch of an online store selling then and now photo prints of Parry Sound at www.onthisspot.ca/shop. Postcards featuring these photographs will be available from the Downtown Parry Sound Business Association and businesses will also be able to advertise on the app through the Nearby feature.

Sample then-and-now images can be found at www.onthisspot.ca/parrysound  and selections can be made exclusively available to any media outlets seeking graphics.

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Click here, to read the latest In Our Collection article featured in the Parry Sound North Star!