Walk, bike, or drive around downtown and learn about the history of Gainesville, Florida with the convenience of your cell phone.
This cell phone tour is produced by the Matheson History Museum, Y-Not Theatre, and Tone Control Studio. Audio tour scripts are written by Joanna Grey Talbot and Peggy Macdonald.
Tour Instructions:
Dial 352-327-9002,
Then dial your tour stop number followed by #
Scroll down to see images of the tour stops, listen to the tour audio, and learn more about the voice actors from the tour.
250#
Clock Tower
Read Clock Tower transcript
Read by Charlie Mitchell. Charlie is an associate professor of theatre at the University of Florida where he teaches history and performance. Charlie is also a playwright and a company member at the Hippodrome State Theatre.
251#
Battle of Gainesville
Read Battle of Gainesville transcript
Read by Patricia Sneed and Carolyn Salt. Patricia is a Gainesville native and received a fine arts degree with emphasis in stage management from Santa Fe College. She has worked as an independently contracted stage manager for The Hippodrome State Theater and the UF School Of Music in the past. Patricia is very active with the Gainesville Community Playhouse having recently Directed and Costumed the musical Little Women as well as playing Brooke Wyndham in the musical Legally Blonde. She currently serves as Secretary on the Gainesville Community Playhouse’s Board of Directors. Outside of her theater endeavors, she owns and operates Daybreak Pleasant Street with her husband as well as working as a seamstress and costumer.
Carolyne Salt is an outspoken advocate of the arts in Gainesville and has performed voice work locally and around the world. She has run the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre as its President since 2015, and chaired its marketing and dramaturgy committees since 2013. She is thrilled to lend her voice to this project, and raise awareness of Gainesville’s rich history in the process!
252#
Alachua County Courthouse
Read Alachua County Courthouse transcript
Read by Gordon Elderdice. After spending 25+ years as a professional in the real estate finance industry and raising three children, Gordon is pursuing voiceover artist jobs in addition to his full-time occupation. His career has involved frequent public speaking and presentation roles that crossover nicely into voiceover artist work. His goal is to broaden his narrative voiceover experiences to blend with his passion for history and sports related topics, documentaries, or other forms of entertainment.
253#
Bethel Station and Star Garage
Read Bethel Station transcript
Read by Madeline Smyth. No stranger to the Gainesville Art/Theatrical scene, Madeline first set foot on the Phillips Center Mainstage at the age of 7 as a Lost Boy in Peter Pan and hasn’t looked back. Now at the tender age of 13 she has numerous theatrical and vocal credits to her name. Maddie can often be seen performing around town, singing at local events and taking part in theatrical productions. Some favorite shows have included Whatever happened to Baby Jane? (Young Baby Jane/The Hippodrome), A Christmas Carol (Belinda Cratchit/The Hippodrome) The Little Mermaid (Ariel/The Actor’s Warehouse), and Ruthless (Tina Denmark/Actor’s warehouse). Madeline is always excited to see where life’s journey takes her next.
254#
Livery Stables
Read Livery Stables transcript
Read by L’Tanya Van Hamersveld. L’Tanya holds an MFA in Theatre and Dance from the University of Florida. She has toured professionally with Poetry Alive!, the Sacramento Theatre Company and the Hippodrome Theatre. She was the Artistic Director and Founder of Act Reel, Inc. in which she produced, directed and starred in The Three Little Pig Tales & More in Gainesville and Black Voices at the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. She received the Jeff Norton Award for Best Actress for the role of Ellen in Momalogues and the Golden Apple Award for Best Actress for the role of Clairee in Steel Magnolias. A few other acting credits include : A Raisin In The Sun and Steal Away (both also directed), Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Amen Corner at the Actor’s Warehouse, Black Voices, Do You See Me? More letters to the Editor and The Threepenny Opera at the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre. As always PGFWABF!
255#
Tench Building
Tench Building by George Lansing Taylor Jr University of North Florida
Read Tench Building transcript
Read by Thomas Bray. Thomas is from Ocala, FL, but loves to frequent Gainesville and visit interesting sites throughout the city. He is currently finishing his Education Degree through WGU online and loves working with children. He’s been involved with two Insomniac Theater productions, “Willy Wonka Shadowcast” and “12 Angry Men”, in Ocala, FL. Thomas is an avid fan of football and basketball with passions for writing, reading, and history. He has also been known for making many random and silly puns for every occasion.
256#
Hippodrome Theatre
Read Hippodrome Theatre transcript
Read by Charlie Mitchell
257#
Matheson History Museum
American Legion Hall 1933 photographed by Elmer Harvey Bone
Read Matheson History Museum transcript
Read by Mariette Gallor.
258#
Matheson House
Read Matheson House transcript
Read by Shannon Scott and Stanley Richardson. From acting and dancing onstage, to winning best actress in her first feature film The Torment of Laurie Ann Cullom, Shannon Scott has been pursuing her passion of the arts ever since she can remember. She even made a big splash as one of the first free diving mermaids for Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Aquarium, where she became known as Mermaid Shannon. When not performing, Shannon can be caught eating jalapeño kettle chips, reading, exercising, or more than likely singing to one of her seven cats. If none of the above applies, she can also be found in her office recording voice overs or editing a plethora of different media types including photos and videos for various projects.
259#
McKenzie House
Read McKenzie House transcript
Read by Jesse Markham. Jesse has worked as an actor in local production since 2017 for the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre, the Gainesville Community Playhouse and the University of Florida’s Shakespeare in the Park. He is proud to be a contributor to the Matheson’s audio tour and hopes you enjoy the many and varied exhibits at the Matheson.
260#
Alachua County Public Schools
Courtesy of the Alachua County Public Library Heritage Collection
Read Alachua County Public Schools transcript
Read by Yi Rim Park. Ye Rim is a 3rd grade student in the STEM Magnet Program at Stephen Foster Elementary School in Gainesville, FL. Her favorite activity is roller blading. Her hobbies are writing and reading. She also likes to spend time with her family. She is an ambitious girl and she wants to be a vet, firefighter, police officer and doctor.
261#
Matheson Library & Archives
Gainesville Gospel Tabernacle 1930s courtesy of Melanie Barr
Read Matheson Library and Archives transcript
Read by Milo Brooks. Milo graduated with a BA with Honors from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London, England. He has a stage combat certification from the British Academy of Dramatic Combat and has been a member of the Thieves Guilde Living Chessboard since 2005. His recent credits include Insurgent (Lion’s Gate), Powers (Sony Television), Measure for Measure (Acrosstown Rep), Commander (Acrosstown Rep), Bad Jews (Actors’ Warehouse), and Twelfth Night (Acrosstown Rep).
262#
Thelma A Boltin Center
Read Thelma A Boltin Center transcript
Read by Mimi Carr. Mimi Carr was born and raised in Alachua County. She went to school in Gainesville and was raised by Wewa Pond in Micanopy. After college she went to work in Washington, D.C., first for a U.S. Congressman and then at the Smithsonian Institution. In 1970, she went back to school and entered the actor training program at Wayne State University in Detroit. She interned at the Alley Theater in Houston and for the next 25 years was a member of the acting companies of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, the PlayMakers Rep in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. She returned to Gainesville in the mid 1990s. While living in Gainesville, she created and directed a theatre piece derived from several short stories by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings along with a cooking demonstration. This was performed here in Gainesville in 1996 as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of Rawlings’ birth. She continues to perform selections from this piece. She also created a two person reader’s theater piece made up of letters between Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her editor from Scribner’s, Maxwell Perkins. She retired from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in 2018.
263#
The Historic Thomas Center
Read The Historic Thomas Center transcript
Read by Bear Dever. Barry “Bear” Dever is a UF theatre major who has been involved in theater for many years. Some of the productions he has been involved in have been Waiting for Godot, Bang, Bang You’re Dead, Halloween Moon Rising and The Outsiders. He has lived in Gainesville for 11 years and is excited to be involved in this tribute to the city.
264#
First United Methodist Church
Read First United Methodist Church transcript
Read by Stephanie Norman. Stephanie is a proud Gainesville native and excited to support the preservation of such rich Gainesville history through this awesome project. A graduate of Santa Fe College and the University of Florida, Stephanie has enjoyed teaching in the early childhood education field at Santa Fe Little School since 2011. For fun, she enjoys performing with Gainesville Improv Guild and Y-Not Theatre. As much as Stephanie loves being onstage and in the spotlight, she also enjoys being behind the microphone as a voiceover artist. Some voiceover projects include local podcasts and private clients from the community. When she’s not performing, Stephanie can be found walking the beautiful nature trails of Gainesville with her cute pup Allegra.
265#
Masonic Lodge
Read Masonic Lodge transcript
Read by Jacob Sedesse. This is Jacob’s first project with Y-Not Theatre and his first voice acting project; however, he has been involved in theater all his life. He has performed in shows at his school and church all through elementary school. In middle and high school, he was a part of P.K. Yonge Performing Arts. Between sixth and tenth grade, Jacob was cast in seven shows at P.K. Yonge, his favorite roles being Minimus in Animal Farm, Ulie in Every 17 Minutes the Crowd Goes Crazy, and himself in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). In his junior year, he became a full-time dual enrollment student at Santa Fe College and hopes to attend theater and vocal classes there. Outside of theater, Jacob was one of fifteen teens on Microsoft’s inaugural Council for Digital Good, which worked for over a year and a half meeting with leaders in the technology industry about how to make the online world safer for everyone. In the future, Jacob would love to work in the theme park industry designing attractions, blending his passions for technology and theater.
266#
Union Academy
Read Union Academy transcript
Read by Stanley Richardson. An American Author; “Hip Hop Is Dead-Long Live Hip Hop; The Birth, Death And Resurrection Of Hip Hop Activism” (2017), Actor and Lecturer; “What Happens To Organic Black Cultural Expression In A Colonial Environment.” He is the founder and director of ARTSPEAKSgnv (Bringing Poetry & People Together), a non profit organization dedicated to promoting literacy, encouraging creativity, bringing awareness, expanding ideas, and opportunity by providing a medium for expression through the art of poetry, spoken-word and storytelling. Mr. Richardson is also the host of “Ground LeVeL Radio” at WUBA 88.1fm High Springs, FL.
267#
Dunbar Hotel
Read Dunbar Hotel transcript
Read by Mimi Carr.
268#
Chestnut Funeral Home
Read Chestnut Funeral Home transcript
Read by Carol Velasques Richardson. A life-long lover of Arts and Entertainment. Her directing credits have included over 60 productions such as: In Splendid Error, Fences, Cat on Hot Tin Roof, Dreamgirls, The Amistad Case, Blues For An Alabama Sky, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, A Lesson Before Dying, Seven Guitars, The Amen Corner, Tambourines To Glory and The Mahalia Jackson Story. She is also the Chair of The Arts Council of Alachua County representing nine municipalities in North Florida and Station Manager for WUBA 88.1 FM Community radio station in High Springs, Florida.
269#
A Quinn Jones School
Read A Quinn Jones School transcript
Read by Cristina Palacio. Cristina has been acting since her college days in NYC. Her experience in Gainesville spans a number of decades – dating back to the HIPP days on Hawthorne Road. Among her most recent performances: Y-Not Theatre Birthday Spins production of Scenes from Paula Vogel plays; M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias at Gainesville Community Playhouse (for which she is thrilled to say she was awarded a Golden Apple for best actress in a drama); The Lady in Red in For Colored Girls at The Actors’ Warehouse; Dean Diana in Another Antigone at Acrosstown Repertory Theatre; and Grace Dunbar in The Nacerima Society at the Actors’ Warehouse. Recently she has had the opportunity to develop her acting skills through video and audio recordings for education purposes. She is excited to be a part of this collaborative project between Y-Not Theatre and The Matheson History Museum.
270#
Seagle Building
Read Seagle Building transcript
Read by Andrea Young. Andrea is a BFA graduate of Wright State University in Dayton, OH and has recently been seen in Gainesville at the Acrosstown Repertory Theater as Isabella in Measure for Measure and the Fortune Teller in The Skin of Our Teeth. She has worked professionally in Dayton and Chicago and is also a graduate of The Second City improvisation conservatory. Favorite past credits include Izzy in Rabbit Hole, Maria in Twelfth Night, Gertie Farish in House of Mirth, and Helena in Midsummer Night’s Dream.
271#
Florida Theatre
Read Florida Theatre transcript
Read by Shannon Scott.
272#
Dutton Bank
Read Dutton Bank transcript
Read by Jeffrey Forbes. Jeffrey L. Forbes is the marketing coordinator for the Goodwin Heart Pine Co. of Micanopy, Florida. Mr. Forbes holds a B.A. in Anthropology and American History from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and is an experienced presenter. An avid student of all southern culture, literature, flora, fauna, architecture and history, he has an affinity for distinct styling and unique architecture, admiring the work of esteemed architects, including his favorite, A. Hays Town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jeffrey is the Senior Warden of the Episcopal Church of the Mediator (Micanopy), Vice-President of the Friends of Paynes Prairie (Citizens Support Organization), President of the Micanopy Historic Preservation Trust and board member of the Thrasher Warehouse Preservation Corporation. Jeffrey is also an accomplished musician. He plays guitar, mountain dulcimer, and aspires to be a better mandolin & banjo player. Jeffrey is also a member of the Sweetwater Shape Note Singers. Leisure activities include reading books by his favorite authors (William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and C.S. Lewis), traveling abroad (Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, France and Italy) and spending time with his lovely wife, Megan.
273#
Robb House
Read Robb House transcript
Read by Patricia Sneed and Carolyne Salt
274#
Depot Building
Read Depot Building transcript
Read by Michael Presley Bobbitt. Michael is a Gainesville-based playwright whose plays have appeared regionally and Off-Broadway. Originally from central Florida, he has called Gainesville home since the late 1990s. To afford his playwrighting habit, he owns an appraisal firm that conducts commercial real estate appraisals throughout the state of Florida. His frequent travels throughout the state continue to fuel his love affair with Florida history and folklore. He and his wife Laura and son Liam raise goats and donkeys for no reason at all.
275#
Cotton Club
Cotton Club photo from University of Florida Powell Center for Construction
Read by Cristina Palacio
