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Arlington Cultural District

Arlington Cultural District
SELF-GUIDED AUDIO TOUR

Explore Arlington’s Arts, Culture, and History Your Way

HOW TO ACCESS THE SELF-GUIDED AUDIO TOUR
ABOUT THIS TOUR
An expansive new self-guided digital audio tour for mobile devices provides visitors and locals with a personalized deep-dive into a wealth of historic, artistic and architectural assets throughout the Arlington Cultural District.
Narrated by noted local historian Ed Gordon, the tour comprises audio accounts of key historical events, influential residents, town lore, and architectural and cultural features concentrated in an area along Arlington’s so-called Massachusetts Avenue “cultural corridor,” Spy Pond Park and the Minuteman Bikeway.
Currently available on Soundcloud and via an interactive Google Map — with additional streaming platforms to come — modular audio descriptions allow users to tour at their own pace, streaming site-specific details about Revolutionary War battle sites, Uncle Sam’s birthplace, golden age architectural samples, such classic town figures as sculptor Cyrus Dallin and composer Alan Hovhaness, and vibrant contemporary public art, dining, commerce and performance sites.
Along the way, visitors will also discover stores and nightlife establishments, theaters and parks, community centers and recreational areas they’ll want to return to and explore.
Originally envisioned as an in-person tour led by Gordon, who also guides tours in several neighboring towns and manages Arlington’s historic Old Schwamb Mill, the current tour was re-conceptualized for safety in the pandemic and for broad accessibility.
The tour is a project of the Arlington Cultural District Managing Partnership, a part of the Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture, developed with the Loop Lab with support from the Mass Cultural Council and generous local sponsors Mirak Properties, The Legacy at Arlington Center, and WorkBar Arlington.

Arlington Cultural District Core Managing Partners

Anna Litten, Director, Robbins Library | alitten@minlib.net

Katie Luczai, Department of Planning and Community Development, Town of Arlington | kluczai@town.arlington.ma.us

Elizabeth Locke, Executive Director, Arlington Chamber of Commerce | info@arlcc.org

Tom Formicola, Executive Director, Arlington Center for the Arts | tom@acarts.org

Sarah Morgan-Wu, Objects of Stories | sarah.morgan@qpmedia.org

Stewart Ikeda & Christine Noah, Co-chairs, Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture | chair@artsarlington.org

Managing Partners at Large

Mike Buglio, Arlington Center Merchants Association | mbuglio@book-rack.com

Alberto Guzman, Arlington International Film Festival | arlingtonfilmfest@gmail.com

Pamela Meister, Arlington Historical Society | pamela@themeisters.net

Charlotte Pierce, St. John’s Coffeehouse | charlotte.pierce@gmail.com

Sarah Burks and Heather Leavell, Cyrus E. Dallin Museum | burkssarah@gmail.com

Judy Weinberg, Arlington Friends of Drama | judyweinberg@remax.net

Join Us!

Application to become a managing partner of ACD: Click here.