THE PATH OF PRESIDENTS
Digital map to highlight history
Massachusetts’ presidential history will be highlighted in a new digital map of sites ranging from John F. Kennedy’s birthplace in Brookline to the Adams National Historic Park in Quincy.
The “Path to Presidents,” which will include about 20 stops and is set be unveiled this summer. It will be complemented by an online repository of digitized presidential artifacts, including documents, images and anecdotes.
The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau is leading the effort, which initially will include Boston, Cambridge and Quincy, but later will expand to other Bay State destinations, including Cape Cod and the North Shore.
“We want to create one overarching narrative for people to find history and have a real trail to use as they’re exploring,” GBCVB spokesman David O’Donnell said. “The Greater Boston part of it is really just the beginning.”
Quincy, which is known as the “City of Presidents,” will be an important partner in the initiative.
“The Church of the Presidents is where John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried, and there’s also, of course. the Adams National Historical Park,” O’Donnell said. “But we’re also coming up on the 200th anniversary of Abigail Adams’ death, and next year is the 275th anniversary of her birth. We want the stories of first ladies … to be a big part of this as well.”
The GBCVB has been considering a tourism program focusing on the area’s presidential heritage for the past year to not only call attention to historic sites, but related programming and collections held by the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Boston Public Library’s rare books section, the Old State House and others.
“We wanted to come up with 2018 initiatives that celebrate history and heritage, and that were by nature collaborative, so we could reach out to member companies,” O’Donnell said.
The GBCVB is developing a dedicated webpage — bostonusa.com/pathofpresidents/ — to promote the Path of Presidents, participating organizations and their related events. When the digital map debuts this summer, it will launch a social media campaign using the hashtag #PathofPresidents.”
“It’s just a fun way to get people out there interacting with other people on the trail or member companies,” O’Donnell said. “What we’re hoping will happen is that people will contribute to a rich and varied repository of images that’s all user-generated. We want people, as they discover items or know about them already, to share them with us. We hope it will bring obscure stories and artifacts out of the woodwork.”