As part of our “Art for the People’s Park” campaign, we are thrilled to work with local photographer Bob Martin and the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium to bring historic Roger Williams Park postcards to life. In this special, interactive exhibit you can use your smartphone to turn a walk through the Park into a journey to our idyllic past.
Start your journey at the new exhibit from photographer Bob Martin’s photographs on display in the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium. The exhibit at the Museum displays some wonderful postcards from the Museum Archives and collections from the Museum’s archives and vaults.
Then, at 19 locations in the Park (near the Museum, Casino, Carousel and Boathouse) you will see a QR code on an historic Roger Williams Park postcard, once written to a friend or relative, like this:
“Leave me a blueberry pie.” An historic postcard that you can use your smartphone to engage with.
Each QR code takes you to an animation that puts you in the scene of the postcard. What is different? What is the same?
Can you find all 19 sites? Post your modern-day postcard by taking a selfie at the Lover’s Lane Bridge or the old site of the Bandleader in Roosevelt Pond. Share it on Instagram, tag Roger Williams Parks Conservancy, and add #peoplesparkart! Thank you to Bob Martin, the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, and to the City of Providence Parks Department and Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism for making this interactive art exhibit possible.
What an amazing way to connect to Providence’s history! Can not wait to experience this outdoor exhibit with our nine year old. He will love to go on a “hunt” for the postcards and be able to use my phone to get a glimpse into our local past.
I love your idea and your project. It’s a gift to honor the park this way. It’s a wonderful park!
What a nifty way to bring history alive and to link past and present.
This is so cool. What an interesting way to bridge history and draw attention to important places, their histories and oral stories. Thank you for this.
This is really cool Bob. I love how this interactive and how you connect the historical piece to it as well. Well done my friend!
Wonderfully clever way to present the past and present of the park. We had a terrific time, and 5 Stars to the photographer, Bob Martin. Entertaining day!
I enjoyed searching the park for these postcards. What a wonderful idea. This was a nice little peek into the past. Thank you!