New technology highlights Carson City’s Blue Line Trail history

The Carson City Visitors Bureau is using the latest in new technology to highlight some of the city’s oldest buildings.

The iconic Blue Line Trail — which features notable homes on the historic west side — is now available on the Visit Carson City app.

“It’s an opportunity for the bureau to unveil its utilization of new technology,” said Joel Dunn, executive director of the Carson City Visitors Bureau. “This is a way to share our historical significance using the most modern tool for visitors.”

In addition to the audio tour available on the app, which can be downloaded on any smart device, the printed copy has also been updated.

“The actual blue line has changed in the last couple of years,” said James Salanoa, assistant marketing manager for the visitors bureau. “We made sure the new map reflected that.”

He said 20 new sites were added to the map, along with more comprehensive descriptions of each site.

“Prior to this, they were just tidbits, maybe one sentence,” Salanoa said. “We extended that so it’s more descriptive. It’s now more accurate. It’s also more cohesive and easy to follow.”

The audio tour — made available through the visitors bureau’s partnership with the Naughty Tea Mistresses and Brewery Arts Center — provides the entire explanation for each stop.

“With smart phones now you can listen to the complete audio description of each of the locations on the Blue Line Trail,” Salanoa said. “It’s much more comprehensive because there’s only so much information you can fit in print.”

Dunn said visitors and other users of the app will see similar developments in the future.

“The data shows visitors use mobile apps 80 percent of the time when planning their trips,” he said. “You’ll see the visitors bureau continue to make an effort to showcase our historical significance in our mobile app.”