Morgan City? There's an app for that

Using your phone, you can pay your bills, buy groceries, swap videos, learn a language and much, much more. Add one more thing to the list.

Morgan City: There’s an app for that.

Local people involved in tourism and downtown development have plans to launch the Explore Morgan City app on April 5, which is also National Walking Day. The timing isn’t a coincidence.

Using video and narration, the app will guide walkers through a tour of 14 historic buildings and other sites in downtown Morgan City.

“I think that our locals, if they listen to the videos, will hear history they’ve never heard before,” said Greig Chauvin. “There’s hidden history behind a lot of these buildings.”

The app, which is still being developed, is already available at Google Play and the App Store. It’s free.

Chauvin said that as she took walks at Lake Palourde, she would run into people from out of state who said they like the city. They wondered if some sort of walking or biking tour was available.

She talked about that at a meeting of the Morgan City Historic Commission, and Morgan City Chief Administrative Officer Charlie Solar liked the idea.

Hannah Roy of the Morgan City government wrote a grant application to the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, whose mission is to “enhance the identity of our unique
American landscape by preserving and promoting our heritage and by fostering progress for local champions that create authentic, powerful connections between people, culture, and the environment.”

The money paid for the hiring of a developer.

Danika Long and Chris Hunter of KWBJ provided voiceovers, and Sonny Iverson did the editing.

Neal Mayon of the Morgan City Library, L&H Printing and the Morgan City Archives Commission also participated in providing content for the app.

The library and L&H Printing are also sites on the tour along with City Hall, the bank building, the U.S. Post Office, the Gathright building, the Berry Hotel, Lawrence Park, Temple Shaare Zadek, Trinity Episcopal, the Wilmore House, the Prohaska House, the Atchafalaya and Shannon Hardware.

Along with the videos, quizzes will be available at each site.

“I’m hoping people will like the app,” Chauvin said. “I’m hoping students will like the app. I think they’ll be very excited about it.”

The app also solicits donations for continuing development of the app after the first year.