Welcome
Text: Chester City CouncilWelcome to Virtual Chester!
This new site has been designed to provide something for everyone with an interest in Chester's architectural and cultural heritage. It has been financed by the Big Lottery Fund and managed by Chester City Council and local partners - in particular Chester Civic Trust.
The 500 historic photographs have been scanned and described by volunteers from the Civic Trust and by members of the City Council's staff, with special thanks to the team at the History and Heritage Centre.
The starting point for the site was a disused wooden planning model of Chester city centre, which has been laser scanned and textured by Salford University's Centre for Virtual Environments. The 40 buildings on the Chester's Millennium Festival Trail are fully textured on the 3D model and there is a "Quicktime" panorama of each of these. These buildings were selected by people of Chester in 1999 as local favourites.
Visitors to the site may explore the city's heritage via a 3D "fly-by" tour, or by searching themes, locations and historical periods. A range of photographs related to each area of interest can be viewed and enlarged and there is a wealth of other information.
To enjoy the site's 3D and panorama features, it is necessary to download "Cortona" and "Quicktime" - a prompt will come up on screen to allow you to choose this option.
Enjoy the site !