San Felipe de Austin Plat Tour

Virtual Grounds collaborated with the Texas Historical Commission to create and develop Virtual Map Tours of the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site. The prototype project offered digital alternatives for the visualization and interpretation of the vanished 1823 settlement through multiple web-based and mobile technologies. San Felipe de Austin was the unofficial capital of American Texas, and it was completely burned down in 1836.

The web interface displayed a 3D virtual tour and a 2D map tour of the settlement superimposed on the historic Plat, featuring customized information boxes for selected Points of Interest (POIs).

Client: Texas Historical Commission - THC

  • Exploring the Historic Plat

    The tours were based on the historic town plat drawn by the settlement's founder Stephen F. Austin, enriched by information on notable occupants of the lots and lands of the vanished colony.

  • Visualizing the Settlement in 3D

    The 3D virtual tour positioned schematic representations of buildings overlaid on top of the original town plat, providing a visualization of the possible occupation of the site. A pre-set tour guided visitor through featured lots.

  • For Online and On-site Visitors

    The tour of San Felipe was also featured on a mobile app, initially launched as a mobile website. The app replicated the points of interest that are also present in the desktop map tour.

Multi-Platform Interpretation Tools

The story grows in different platforms, and across time. A curated set of multi-platform interpretation tools centered on digital maps for smartphones and PCs.

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Helping Interpreting the History of San Felipe de Austin

The map tours helped connect historical events and real places, exploring the original town plat as a spatial reference of the 1820's occupation.

The 2D and 3D tours were hosted by the Texas Historical Commission website dedicated to the history of San Felipe.

  • Watch the 3D Tour in action

    The web-based virtual map tour does not require installation to run. Online visitors can select among a set of preset views, adjust opacity of the plat overlay, open information panels, and play a guided tour.

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