BERKELEY — For many Berkeley residents, Telegraph Avenue refers to a four-block section from Dwight Way to Bancroft Avenue, home to a diverse array of businesses and often a magnet for a wide range of people.

It’s an area that served as the base for many counterculture events of the 1960s and 1970s — events that had a strong impact and helped forge the identity of the city of Berkeley.

Many visitors search for something that explains what made Telegraph famous, something that compliments the historical mural at Amoeba Records. Now there is something, a free smart phone enabled Telegraph Historical Walking Tour, featuring compelling stories told by people who experienced the events in person.

The tour is free and will debut at a launch party March 21 at Moe’s Books, where there will be remarks by Mayor Jesse Arreguin and short interviews of two of the contributors to the tour, as well as food from local eateries.

“Over the past year, we have worked to capture the stories of people who were on the front lines of events that have shaped our community,” said Stuart Baker, executive director of the Telegraph Business Improvement District. “We worked with the Berkeley Historical Society and Tom Dalzell to find the best stories and they helped to find the best people to tell their stories. Connecting with the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism gave us the professional content we had hoped for.”

Powered by an interactive 3D map developed by Guidekick, the location-sensitive app will help visitors navigate the area and learn how the events that occurred in the district still impact people’s lives today. The 11 locations each have multiple historical points of interest. When the app is opened, an interactive 3D map of the Telegraph District is displayed, offering a simple way to navigate between stops.

The technology enables the app to be used without headphones and written text creates an equal experience for those who are hearing impaired. Tour users will also be able to take thematic tours of the district, such as significant architecture or the internment of Japanese American during World War II.

The idea for the historic walking tour came to Baker when he visited Atlanta and heard about the Civil Rights Freedom Trail.

“What the Telegraph Business Improvement District needed was an experience that could connect with young people and how they get their information,” he said. “We applied for a chancellor’s grant from the university and raised money from a number of different sources, including the Fund for the Environment and Urban Life.”

The 11 stops and titles include: the Free Speech Movement; Street Artists; Computer Memory at Leopold’s Records; Japanese American Internment and the First Congregational Church; Foreign Cinema and Literary Culture; and People’s Park Mural and the Riots of 1969.

One stop, “Race, Discrimination and the Shop,” narrated by Anita Medal, tells the story of Lucky’s supermarket, a target of civil rights demonstrations until 1965 because of its anti-black hiring practices.

She describes being there as CORE shoppers filled their baskets to the top, took them to the checkout and then refused to pay. At the time, she felt this was rude and disruptive but when she learned that three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi had disappeared and were found dead, her feelings changed.

“What I saw at Lucky’s I questioned and was uncomfortable with. I didn’t understand how dire it was,” she said. “Then I realized what it takes to create change, that was the whole point of it, to educate people and make them aware of how much discrimination and prejudice existed just under our noses and not just in the South.”

The tour has a wide target audience from locals to visitors looking to experience Berkeley’s history and values. Students preparing to move to the district and their parents can explore and experience the area in 3D remotely.

Those who participating in the creation of this historical walking tour feel it’s important for people to be aware of Telegraph Avenue’s history.

“So much of what happened here is still happening in the world and it has gotten even more pronounced: freedom of speech, nativism and discrimination of immigrants, racial discrimination and acts of fundamentalist terrorism,” Baker said.

“It supports the embryonic efforts of todays Gen Z’s, like the high school students now running with the ball,” Medal added. “I strongly suspect the Parkland (Florida) students know about the history of righteous struggle. I think they’ve been well schooled in the progressive battles through the Americas and elsewhere.”

FYI

What: Telegraph Historical Walking Tour app launch party

When: 4 p.m., March 21

Where: Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley

Details: Event is open to the public with RSVP to stuart@telegraphberkeley.org.

Information: Tour is free and accessible on both smart phones and tablets. Go to telegraphtour.com to download or go the App Store/Google Play. Use it onsite or at home.