The popular St. Johnsbury Historic Walking Tour was developed by the St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce in 2008 and highlights the magnificent architecture on Main Street. Now the St. J Chamber has developed an audio version of the tour that can be downloaded to an mp3 player. Narrated by Charlie Browne, Executive Director of the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, and Lisa von Kann, Library Head of the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, the audio is a great way to learn about the sites while you take the tour.
Katrina Meigs, Executive Director of the St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce, showcased the brand new audio podcast June 2 at a reception at the Welcome Center. "The historic walking tour is a wonderful way for people to experience the architectural treasures of St. Johnsbury," says Meigs. "The mid to late 1800s was a boom time in St. Johnsbury's history, and the tour includes many of the town's best examples of buildings from that period."
The launch of the new audio podcast included a video of highlights from the tour. The video can be seen on the St. J Chamber's website, discoverstjvt.com.
To listen to the audio, click on the button for the Historic Walking Tour on the discoverstjvt.com website. You'll have the option to listen to the tour or download it. A map of the walking tour area is also available to view or download.
The historic tour has seven viewpoints, and six of the viewpoints are marked with a bench from which you can see the buildings named at that viewpoint. Every building on the tour has a special plaque on it, designating it as part of the historic walking tour. Local institutions such as the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, and the St. Johnsbury Academy are all featured in the tour. But there are many lesser-known buildings included, as well. The oldest building on the tour is a residential home on Main Street built in 1801. It is one of the three oldest houses in St. Johnsbury. A stately mansion further down Main Street, built in 1874, was the home of the first president of Vassar College, Milo P. Jewett.
Brochures with a map of the St. Johnsbury Historic Walking Tour are available at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum and at the St. Johnsbury Welcome Center.
The walking tour and the audio podcast are made available through the generosity of the Donchian Foundation. Enjoy the history and grandeur of St. Johnsbury's Victorian past at your own pace by listening to the new audio podcast while you take the historic walking tour.

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