New plan to revive city centre with tourist trails

27/09/2024
Aberdeen's Burns statue. (Photo courtesy of Questoapp.com)

VOLUNTEER taskforce group Our Union Street is appealing for pieces of Aberdeen’s concealed past to showcase in their newest initiative to revitalise the city’s main street.

The taskforce hope to use cutting-edge technology to allow visitors to interact with city landmarks, such as the Robert Burns statue on Union Terrace bursting into life to recall the writing of Auld Lang Syne, and where individuals can bring historical figures into the modern era by using their smartphones to scan plaques dedicated to them – and even take a selfie with them.

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The plan is ultimately to create various trails across the city centre to encourage visitors to spend more time in the area, but first a collection of “untold stories” is needed to form these routes.

Our Union Street Chairman Bob Keiller made a presentation at Aberdeen’s Music Hall yesterday, saying:

“We want a city centre where things come to life, where plaques and statues tell their own stories.”

Some suggested trails could focus on local heroes, notable buildings, scientific superstars, medical marvels or the city’s dark past, including the Aberdeen witch trials – which saw more killed in the city than in Salem.

It is hoped that a few of these trails will be ready to launch to coincide with the Tall Ships Race in Aberdeen next summer.

Our Union Street is seeking individuals who enjoy exploring books, examining vintage documents, and discovering captivating stories about the city’s history, spanning centuries to the last few years.

In addition to the army of researchers, Bob explained that Our Union Street will need people to write up the information.

He added: “Previously we have never had to attract people here – mainly because of the success of the oil industry.

“Now we need to work harder to bring people into the centre.”

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