New Philadelphia gets an app to boost tourism

BARRY, Ill. (AP) — The first city platted by a black man in the United States just got its own online app. The (Quincy) Herald-Whig reports the New Philadelphia augmented reality app called “New Phil AR” has been accepted by Apple.

It’s the first phase of a project to boost the site near Barry, Illinois, where Free Frank McWorter founded his city in the 1830s.

Jon Amakawa is a college professor in video game design and a 3-D artist. He developed the app to provide a look at how the town was laid out and what daily life was life.

The app was created with a $10,000 grant from the U.S. National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program and $4,000 in matching funds from the Illinois Electric Cooperative.

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