1.Safety 

 
 
 

Important Please Note

Safety

It should be understood that there are automobiles, bicycles and other visitor traffic in the city of Stillwater. Please be aware of your surroundings and pay attention to the traffic, obstacles, other people and their dogs while you enjoy using Lens Flare Stillwater. We are pleased that you choose to visit Stillwater and we want you to safely enjoy your experience. More importantly, we want you return and let us know how to make your experience even better in the future.

The App and Web site are Free for you to use. It is important for you to know that it is your responsibility to be aware of dangers due to distractions that may impede your safe transit from one location to another while using this app on your mobile device. 

Lens Flare Stillwater is a volunteer project funded by the Stillwater Foundation. Our volunteers and the Foundation cannot be responsible for any accidents due to distractions while using this app or web site on your mobile device. Students and children are encouraged, but must be supervised by adults as they experience the rich history of Stillwater, Minnesota.

This App is to be used when you are actually in the City of Stillwater. As you enter a "Geo-Fence" for each location, information related to this location will appear for you to interact with. These visual cues will change as you enter additional "Geo-Fences" of other historical locations.

2.Instructions

Instructions for your mobile device

1. Set your phone on CELLULAR DATA to the "ON" position. This enables you to receive signals outside of a WIFI Zone.

2. Set Privacy Setting to LOCATION and enable this setting. This enables your position to be located on the map relative to the historical locations.

3. If the APP asks for you to make your location known, say "YES".

4. Being outside works best for receiving GPS signals.  If you are inside a building, it is difficult to receive a GPS signal from all the satellites that are necessary for accurate geo-location.

5. If you click on a map on the APP, the blue dot represents your position on the map.

6. It is best to set your "AUTO LOCK" for five minutes or longer so that the phone stays on while you walk.

3.Vantage, locations, fences, toggling and time tunnels.

Let the fun begin

Each of the historical sites has a GPS Location.  Sometimes we use a "Vantage Point" location and other times we use the actual location of the historical site. The "Vantage Point" refers to the location of the camera when the photo was taken. 

There are "Geo-Fences" set around each historical location. When you enter a "Geo-Fence" for any given location, the historical photo of that location will appear in a short while. There will also be a narrative and an audio file with some of the locations so that you can learn about its history. Just click on the audio file to listen to the narrative about the location. As you walk into other "Geo-Fences" from other historical locations, the historical photos, narratives and audio files will change. 

In addition, there are other photos that can be viewed at the end of each location narrative. Be sure to use the "Additional Information About...." link.  This APP is integrated with the Lens Flare Stillwater web site to provide  further information, photos, videos and references about the historical site that you are experiencing. Lens Flare Stillwater and its App are also integrated with a more recent view of the same location via Google Maps 360 Street View. There are links to all of these features so that you can enjoy your self-guided tour.  

Be sure to experience the "Time-Tunnel" photos that take you from the past to today in one photo that slowly "morphs" from one era to another at the same location.

Keep in mind that you can toggle back and forth between the APP and the Lens Flare Stillwater web site. Make sure that you are in the APP for the automatic changes to take place as you tour. The App has a white background, while the web site has a black background.

 
 
 

FREE Apps 〰️

FREE Apps 〰️

 

All of the Images Below Are Links to Seven Different FREE APPS. These APPS will work for any computer or mobile smart device. They will work from your armchair anywhere. The best experience is when you are in Stillwater, nearby these historic locations. Your smart device then will know where you are and every time you enter a new historic location, it will provide photos, text or audio information related to the location. Just click on the TOUR of your choice and learn about the early days of Stillwater, Minnesota

  

 
Main Street TourApp for All Mobile DevicesThis features 15 active sites and triggers a visual cue when a new geo fence is entered.

Main Street Tour

App for All Mobile Devices

This features 15 active sites and triggers a visual cue when a new geo fence is entered.

Downtown Guided TourApp for All Mobile Devices.This features a quick guided tour of downtown Stillwater MN. It triggers a visual cue when a new geo fence is entered.

Downtown Guided Tour

App for All Mobile Devices.

This features a quick guided tour of downtown Stillwater MN. It triggers a visual cue when a new geo fence is entered.

Main Street TourApp is ONLY for APPLE iOS Devices.It features 19 active sites and triggers an audio as well as a visual cue when a new geo fence is entered

Main Street Tour

App is ONLY for APPLE iOS Devices.

It features 19 active sites and triggers an audio as well as a visual cue when a new geo fence is entered

 
 
 
 
This APP is for all Mobile DevicesTake a tour of Stillwater as it was when it was serviced by the early Streetcars. Use the map of the Stillwater Streetcars that ran between Stillwater and Bayport. There are stories about the streetcars, the fares and the people who used them. Walk, pedal or ride as a passenger in a car and enjoy what it was like in the early 1900’s to ride on a streetcar. This APP can provide a Virtual Reality Tour from your armchair anywhere in the world. The APP works best when you are actually in the city of Stillwater when you use your mobile device to sense your location and provide photos, text and sounds of the Stillwater Streetcars of what that same location was like in the early days of the streetcars.

This APP can be used on any mobile device.

Take a tour of Stillwater as it was when it was serviced by the early Streetcars. Use the map of the Stillwater Streetcars that ran between Stillwater and Bayport. There are stories about the streetcars, the fares and the people who used them. Walk, pedal or ride as a passenger in a car and enjoy what it was like in the early 1900’s to ride on a streetcar. This APP can provide a Virtual Reality Tour from your armchair anywhere in the world. The APP works best when you are actually in the city of Stillwater when you use your mobile device to sense your location and provide photos, text and sounds of the Stillwater Streetcars of what that same location was like in the early days of the streetcars.

 
Stillwater Interurban Streetcar to Wildwood This APP is for all mobile devicesTake a tour of the places where the Stillwater Interurban Streetcar crossed as it came and went to Wildwood Amusement Park. View the path of the early tracks and hear about Elliott Crossing and the family that lived along the streetcar tracks. Listen to and read about the “News Flashes” sourced from the newspapers that described the progress and problems of building the streetcar line in 1899. Learn about how these powerful Interurban Streetcars crossed busy railroad tracks between Stillwater and Mahtomedi. This APP can provide a “Virtual Reality” tour from your armchair anywhere in the world. The APP provides the best experience when you are nearby any of these locations. Your mobile device knows your location and when it senses your nearness to any of the historic locations, it provides you with historical images, text and audio that are relevant to that location.

Stillwater Interurban Streetcar to Wildwood

This APP can be used on any mobile device.

Take a tour of the places where the Stillwater Interurban Streetcar crossed as it came and went to Wildwood Amusement Park. View the path of the early tracks and hear about Elliott Crossing and the family that lived along the streetcar tracks. Listen to and read about the “News Flashes” sourced from the newspapers that described the progress and problems of building the streetcar line in 1899. Learn about how these powerful Interurban Streetcars crossed busy railroad tracks between Stillwater and Mahtomedi. This APP can provide a “Virtual Reality” tour from your armchair anywhere in the world. The APP provides the best experience when you are nearby any of these locations. Your mobile device knows your location and when it senses your nearness to any of the historic locations, it provides you with historical images, text and audio that are relevant to that location.

 

FREE APP History on The Loop Trail

This APP can be used on any mobile device. Enjoy and Learn about the History of Locations near the St.Croix Crossing Loop Trail. Figure out how many sawmills were here and explore the difference between Mr. Hersey and Mr. Hershey. The APP provides a good map and a “Virtual Reality Tour” of these important locations along the trail in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The best Experience is to be nearby any of these locations and have your mobile device sense your location. Your mobile device will then tell you about what it was like in the early years at the same location. It will show you historical photographs, text and audio about the nearby historical or fun location.

 
 

Free APP Fire Run Tour of Stillwater

 

This APP can be used on any mobile device. Have you ever wanted to be a Firefighter? The Year 2022 is the 150th Anniversary of the Stillwater Fire Department. This tour takes you to all of the Fire Stations in Stillwater and some historic fires that were part of the historic past of Stillwater, Minnesota. There are sounds of the past that will let you know when you have arrived at one of the active locations. There are linked videos and stories of how important horses were to the early firefighters.

 
 

Click on the Image above to Go to The Stillwater Riverfront Boat Tour. This tour features the photographs of Frederick Holcombe taken in the time period of 1895-1900. The photos were taken with glass plate negatives that gave the images high resolution so that you can see the background of his original images in considerable detail. The Tour path is taken from a boat path up the center of the St. Croix River. The tour shows what the riverfront looked like in 1895-1900 as seen from the lens of Frederick Holcomb’s camera. The tour takes you from the south of Stillwater to the Stillwater Boom Site.

 
 

Click on the image above to go to the Stillwater Land-based Tour of the Riverfront. This tour features the photographs of Frederick Holcombe, who was a photographer in 1895-1900. His photo was taken on a coated Glass Plate that provided a high resolution image. This allowed the background in his photograph to provide another story about the riverfront of Stillwater at that time. The tour will take you from the south of Stillwater (Oak Park Heights) to the St. Croix Boomsite and some of the scenes you might have seen along the way. It represents some of the very few images we have of the Stillwater waterfront at that time.