Award-Winning “Walt Whitman & His Invincible City” Tour

CAMDEN, NJ –The award-winning “Walt Whitman & His Invincible City” Tour is back in Camden for the fall tourism season.  The guided tour, which showcases the places that inspired America’s poet and the city he lived in, recently received an Award for Tourism Excellence at the New Jersey Governor’s Conference on Tourism. During the fall of 2007, the Whitman bus tour will be offered on Saturdays, October 6, 20 and 27 and by appointment for school field trips and other pre-formed groups.

“This tour really brings history to life,” said Judi London, president, South Jersey Tourism Corporation which developed and markets the tour.  “Whitman’s poetry takes on a whole new meaning when you see where he ate, slept and wrote and learn about the times and the lively revitalization Camden was experiencing during his lifetime. “

Visitors ride in an air-conditioned bus for the three-hour escorted tour. It begins at the Camden Waterfront that so captured Whitman’s heart and follows the footsteps of an incredibly unique and interesting character whose life and writings left an indelible mark on the cultural life of 19th century America and on the City of Camden, the place he called home.

The first stop is the Walt Whitman House in Camden, the only house Whitman ever owned. The home was frequented by Oscar Wilde, Thomas Eakins and other 19th century celebrities. Then the tour winds down historic Haddon Avenue, following the route of Whitman’s funeral procession where thousands of mourners lined the street to pay their respects to their beloved neighbor and artist. Inside historic Harleigh Cemetery, where more than 300 Civil War veterans are buried, a tour guide will explain the poet's role as a nurse during that seminal conflict, and his tremendous influence on American culture. The tour then makes its way to Whitman's massive tomb, the design and construction of which was supervised by Whitman himself.

The highlight of the tour is a surprise visit by Walt Whitman impersonator and expert Darrel Blaine Ford. Ford, dressed in period costume, will read from Whitman's insightful and inspiring collection of poetry.

Tour tickets are $30 and space is limited. For reservations, contact the South Jersey Tourism Corporation at 856-757-9400 or email WhitmanTour@visitsouthjersey.com.  Tours for school groups and other pre-formed groups are available by appointment.

These tours are made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust. Partners working in cooperation with SJTC for this project include the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-Division of Parks and Forestry, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities, Harleigh Cemetery and Camden County Historical Society.

The South Jersey Tourism Corporation was created in 2003 through a grant from the Delaware River Port Authority to develop and promote tourism assets in Burlington, Mercer, Camden, Gloucester and Salem Counties in New Jersey. The mission of the SJTC is to promote the South Jersey Delaware River counties as a destination and increase visits to its many attractions and cultural and heritage sites, thereby stimulating economic growth and maximizing the value that tourism brings to the region's communities. Its core objective is to increase tourism related expenditures, including money spent by visitors at local hotels and motels, and employment in South Jersey communities bordered by the Delaware River. For more information about travel to So
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