Prospect Hill Tower Virtual Tour Video Now Available Online

SOMERVILLE – You can now visit Prospect Hill Tower year round through the newly released virtual tour video: www.somervillema.gov/prospecthilltour. Prospect Hill Tower was built in 1903 with funds from the Union Square Women’s Organization to commemorate the site where the first American flag was raised during the Revolutionary War. The video provides viewers with a tour of the interior of the Tower, with views of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville from the top, and information about the history of Prospect Hill. The eight minute film was funded through the Community Preservation Act (CPA), which also funded the 2015 renovation of the Tower.

The Tower is open during warm months for docent-led tours. You can find out when these tours are scheduled at www.somervillema.gov/events. Because the Tower is closed during cold weather and the many stairs mean that not everyone can climb to the top themselves, the Community Preservation Committee, Board of Aldermen, and the City of Somerville wanted to provide an option to give people an immersive experience from the comfort of their own homes. The video includes closed captioning in English, Portuguese, and Spanish with Haitian Kreyol coming soon. People who cannot climb the stairs are also encouraged to come to events at the Tower, as docents use smartphones to provide real-time virtual tours for participants.

The video was created by local production company, Hendrix Productions. The cast includes a local Somerville historian, a Somerville High School student, and a student from Peabody, Mass.

For more information on the CPA, visit somervillema.gov/cpa, where you can also sign up for the CPA Email Newsletter by clicking “Sign Up for CPA News.”

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Betsy Allen, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or BAllen@somervillema.gov.