This weekend marks the kick-off of this year’s My Dot Tours, an interactive walking tour of Fields Corner led by local youth. The tours will take place August 6 and 13 at 11 a.m. and on Sunday August 7 and 14 at 4 p.m.
The teen-led tours stop at various sites in Fields Corner like the Fields Corner Shopping Plaza, the Fields Corner T station, the Dorchester House, and the municipal building on Adams Street.
Tour participants will find a street sign at each site on the list that directs the viewer to call a number on their cell phones that will give them the information about that site. Participants are then encouraged to leave a message about any memories or thoughts they have about the particular site. Those messages will then be entered into what organizers are calling a “living archive” of the Fields Corner area.

“We want people to call in or go online and leave whatever information they have,” said Katie Balug, coordinator of My Dot Tour.

Balug, a recent graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, became familiar with the Fields Corner neighborhood through her work with Harvard, surveying the architecture and building development of the area. She has done similar projects in Mexico City, organizing interactive tours that inform residents and visitors of the history and significance of neighborhood locales.

“I found Fields Corner through a variety of ways … when I heard they were doing the walking tour, I wanted to collaborate on it.”

Balug along with two college interns organizes the group of youth tour guides, who range in ages from 14 to 17 and are, mostly, from the Fields Corner neighborhood. This makes for a very personal tour experience, Balug said.

“We didn’t want to set up any barriers when we were searching for students. We wanted to accept anyone,” Balug said. “But we ended up having lots of kids from Fields Corner who know the area, which is good.”

Other organizations collaborating on My Dot Tours are the MIT Center for Civic Media, DotWell, and the Dorchester Historical Society.

Those interested in scheduling a tour can RSVP to one of the tour dates to mydottours@gmail.com. Tour audio samples are also available by calling the following number: 617-300-0368.