San Francisco Chronicle’s GPS walking tours tap into newsroom knowledge

By Sarah Feldberg

San Francisco Chronicle, Chronicle Audio Tours

San Francisco, California, United States

Connect      

Hidden walrus heads in the middle of the San Francisco Financial District. The ruins of an ill-fated observatory in Golden Gate Park. Plate-glass windows in the Castro District that made LGBTQ history.

San Francisco Chronicle journalists tell the stories of all three on Chronicle Audio Tours, which offers entertaining and informative GPS-guided walking tours of San Francisco hosted on the VoiceMap app.

The tours started in The Chronicle newsroom as a bad idea that held the kernel of great one.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Chronicle Urban design critic John King led small-group architecture tours of San Francisco for Chronicle subscribers, where he discussed the design features of various buildings and shared the stories of their creation. But pandemic restrictions had upended our event programming — and an architecture tour wouldn’t work over Zoom.

What if, he asked, we could relaunch the tours as a podcast? People could still walk the city and hear its story — at their own pace and on their own time.

A podcast wasn’t the right format for what King was envisioning — it required too much hitting pause and play — but a GPS-guided tour, where the audio starts and stops seamlessly based on your location, was perfect.

The idea of audio tours grew out of necessity after the pandemic shut down the popular in-person architecture tours.
The idea of audio tours grew out of necessity after the pandemic shut down the popular in-person architecture tours.

Connecting with audiences everywhere

After doing some research, we landed on VoiceMap as our partner and publishing platform. The company has more than 1,000 tours in 64 countries, so we were able to tap into their production expertise and built-in audience, from advising on the placement of finicky GPS points to reaching a market of tourists already using the app.

The Chronicle’s first three tours — Financial District architecture, Golden Gate Park, and the Castro District — are written to appeal to tourists and locals. It included some familiar landmarks and surprising details, so even longtime San Francisco residents will learn something new.

King’s “Unfolding the Financial District: Design adventures in San Francisco’s hub,” shares the history of ghostly figures atop a downtown office tower and invites you into a nearby lobby to ogle an art deco ceiling you’d never know existed from outside.

“I was pretty astonished at how good this tour was,” one commenter wrote on the VoiceMap app. “I spent two hours riveted by John King’s narrative, a perfect combination of erudition and enthusiasm. I hope he considers creating some more SF architecture journeys.”

On culture critic Peter Hartlaub and columnist Heather Knight’s tour of Golden Gate Park, the pair weave the green expanse’s origin story with its best-kept secrets and modern controversies, delivering a 90-minute highlight reel that provides a new understanding of the beloved park and a to-do list for a return visit.

Finally, on “Over the Rainbow in the Castro: A tour of San Francisco’s preeminent gayborhood,” arts and entertainment writer Tony Bravo welcomes you on a stroll through the city’s famed LGBTQ district, where gay icons are immortalised on the sidewalk and Gilbert Baker’s rainbow flag flies overhead.

“Had a blast listening to THE TONY BRAVO,” wrote one tour reviewer. “Would recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the Castro.”

The first three tours — Financial District architecture, Golden Gate Park, and the Castro District — are written to appeal to tourists and locals.
The first three tours — Financial District architecture, Golden Gate Park, and the Castro District — are written to appeal to tourists and locals.

Cutting through the noise

In a media environment brimming with distractions — where people get stuck in scroll cycles and browse mode — the tours’ superpower is how they capture listeners’ attention and hold it. The virtue of GPS guidance is that it’s totally immersive: You put on your headphones, press play, and put your phone away. The intimacy of audio means you connect with a real person as they share stories and show you around.

For The Chronicle, the tours generate revenue through direct sales on sfchronicle.com and via the VoiceMap app, but they also reinforce Chronicle reporters as experts on their city and showcase the depth of knowledge inside our newsroom.

“We’ve lived near [Golden Gate] Park for over 40 years and spend time in the park all the time,” one walker commented on the VoiceMap app, “and we learned new things and places on the tour!”

Banner photo by Jessica Christian/The Chronicle.

About Sarah Feldberg

By continuing to browse or by clicking “ACCEPT,” you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance your site experience. To learn more about how we use cookies, please see our privacy policy.
x

I ACCEPT