Assignment 2: Experimental Audio Tour
Those crosses on the side of the road are hard to miss. You drive by them every day on your way to work or school and, while you wait for the traffic light to turn green, you can't help but to think about the tragic day that lead to when those crosses were erected. The questions begin. What happened here? Who was involved? Who was at fault? Why did this happen? Could I have done something to help? These questions mostly go unanswered as the traffic ahead of you begins to move. The car behind you honks and you're forced to move on. What if you could have been there when those tragedies occurred? Would these questions finally have some answers?
Artist Statement
For this second Digital Media project, I will be exploring the idea of audibly recreating an infamous local tragedy to try to get some answers. In the form of an experimental audio tour, the focus of this project is on Reno, Nevada's deadliest arson. This arson in particular took place at 214 North Lake Street, at what was known as the Mizpah Hotel.
All that remains today at the location of the old Mizpah Hotel is a bronze plaque and an empty lot near the Aces Ballpark in downtown Reno. The plaque, much like the crosses seen on the side of the road, acts as a reminder of the lives that were lost. The fenced-in desolate lot, which has been empty for over 10 years in an area of major redevelopment, resembles a concrete scar that the city is not quite ready to cover up or forget.
Using facts found while researching official crime reports, 911 calls, fire/EMT radio transcripts, and eye-witness interviews, this audio tour will put the listener in the role of an apprentice Crime Scene Investigator. The tour begins at the downtown Reno Police Department. Your contact from the department, Lead Detective Robert Malone (voiced by Elgin Alway), will guide you via a satellite feed to the location of the crime. Utilizing cutting-edge, yet experimental, time-traveling technology, Detective Malone will take you and your tour group back in time to experience, through audio, the grim night of October 31st, 2006.
Instructions
Materials Needed
- Digital Audio Player (smartphone, iPod, etc.)
- Headphones
- Audio Tour MP3 File (download here, or stream via SoundCloud)
Steps
- Go to the designated start location at the downtown Reno Police Department (455 E. 2nd Street, Reno, NV 89502).
- Load up the audio tour file on your smartphone or audio player. If touring in a group, ensure that all participants are cued up at the start of the audio file before beginning.
- For all members of the tour, press play at the same time . Further instruction will be provided to you via audio from Detective Malone.
This tour from start to completion is 12 minutes 15 seconds in length. The audio will lead you and your group, on foot, along E. 2nd Street heading West towards downtown Reno. The map below can be used for reference.
Audio Tour
Cast
Lead Detective Malone
Male Victim
Arsonist
Female Victim 1
Female Victim 2