Cell phones provide your link to learning more about Elgin

Learning about Elgin history and other places of interest in the city will soon be as easy as dialing your cell phone.

Beginning this week, the Elgin Heritage Commission will launch a cell phone tour which will allow callers to listen to short interpretive messages while visiting a variety of places. These will include various downtown sites, parks, as well as places along the bike path - all marked with signage telling listeners how to dial up.

The idea for using cell phones is being used in a variety of places in the country, says Commission chairman Bill Briska who worked on the project with fellow members Betsy Couture and William Ristow. These include national park sites, historical tours, aquariums, zoos, museums and even retail stores, he explains. In some locations, visitors without cell phones are provided a loaner phone to take the tour.

To access the messages - which vary between a minute and two - cell phone users simply dial a number that appears on the sign at each site. They are then provided with a greeting and the option to choose between the various sites. The only cost to users will be the normal charges associated with the use of their phone.

Callers shouldn't plan on hearing boring, mundane messages either. "We wanted the narrative to be lively and engaging," notes Briska. The sound of the swing of a golf club, a car's horn, and animals in a zoo can be heard in the background. Both male and female voices add to the variety.

Among the specific Elgin locations will be Lords Park, Wing Park and Trout Park and sites along the Fox River Bike Trail. Several downtown buildings including the Tower Building, Gail Borden Public Library and the newly opened Veteran's Memorial Park are also featured.

The cell phone tour will be an ongoing project and narratives and locations featured will change from time to time. "This will encourage listeners to call back again," explains Briska.

The tour is hosted by Guide by Cell in San Francisco which will provide data on callers to help modify the Elgin program, Briska explains. "This type of tour is also one of the most practical and cost effective ways to promote Elgin sites," he adds.

The project will eventually become part of the city of Elgin Web site, an improvement various communities such as nearby Aurora have done. Internet users can click on a map and photo and hear the narrative.

And, in case you're thinking you've been left out because you don't have a cell phone, think again. You can still dial up the cell tour from home, or any other telephone for that matter. It's just that you won't be standing in front of the specific Elgin attraction at the time.

To hear the Elgin cell phone tour dial (847) 686-4390. Press 1 to 28 followed by the # sign to learn more about the attraction you have located.