When Dalia Jardines moved to Evanston from Mexico with her husband a little over a year ago, she craved to know more about the city that’s now part of her story.
“When I came here, I tried to walk around, and the views here are amazing, but I didn’t know anything about Evanston,” Jardines said. “Sometimes I tried to imagine how the city was or could have been in the past, but I had no idea.”
Then, Downtown Evanston created a self-guided history tour of the downtown area in partnership with the Evanston History Center in August. To engage with the city’s past, participants can download Vibemap and walk around familiar blocks with a new perspective.
The tour features 43 landmarks, including the Charles Gates Dawes House museum, the First United Methodist Church and even Evanston’s first Chinese restaurant, Hong Fong Lo. EHC Director of Public Engagement Krista Fabian DeCastro said the guide’s creators chose to include locations with historical significance as well as backgrounds, stories and architecture that would be of interest to the public. The inspiration for the tour was to make Evanston’s history accessible, she said.
With funding from Northwestern’s $100 million community benefits agreement with the city, Downtown Evanston launched the tour to promote community involvement, Downtown Evanston Executive Director Andy Vick said.
“The funds were designated towards programs that really aspire to engage the University community with the downtown and — in this case — with the History Center,” Vick said. “We aspire to create more engagement and awareness for downtown in an intentional way with the University, but also open it to the entire community as well.”
The tour’s launch also includes a contest, in which participants can earn points for each location they visit and win prizes. The prizes include Downtown Evanston merchandise and a $250 “Evanston E-Gift Card” for use at local businesses. The contest will conclude Nov. 1.
High on DeCastro’s list of must-see locations on the tour is the corner of Chicago Avenue and Davis Street, which she said has some of the oldest architecture in downtown Evanston.
At each stop, tour goers can get information and fun facts related to the landmark on the app.
“We’re trying to promote the fact that there’s much more to Evanston than what you see,” DeCastro said. “We’re hoping to facilitate a pride and an understanding of the city through learning more about what happened in a certain corner or certain block.”
Jardines said her favorite spot was First United Methodist Church and was excited to learn she walks by history every day.
After walking through these areas, Jardines has started recommending the tour as an activity to slow down.
“Know where you live,” Jardines said. “Sometimes we just live here and our mind is moving around, and we don’t give ourselves the time or the chance to really understand what is happening in our world. I think a tour is a moment to stop and be more aware of that.”
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