Historical bus tours return for 8th year
MARQUETTE — Residents and tourists alike are once again being given the chance to travel through time and learn about the history of Marquette. The annual Historic Marquette Bus Tours are back again and will be running through mid–August, with afternoon tours being offered at 1 p.m. and evening tours starting a 6 p.m.
Those in attendance will get a chance to hear about different historic people and sites, all from different times in Marquette’s history, and there are even some special guests.
“We spend about 90 minutes on the bus, and start at Marquette’s beginnings up through about present day,” said Museum Educator Betsy Rutz, who also narrates the tours. “We also try to hit on some more modern history also, but we’re really telling stories. I narrate the tours and then we have characters come on the bus. Characters coming on the bus is a great way to hear a different voice and learn about stories through someone else’s eyes. [They’re] first person historic reenactment characters.”
All of the characters are passionate volunteers who have worked to make their scripts as accurate as possible, and this year’s characters include a famous author, a boy scout leader, and some interesting people from the medical field.
“As the hospital has moved, we thought we’d take a look at those old buildings on the old campus of the hospital, and check out those buildings while they’re still with us,” said Rutz. “And we meet some medical characters from some different eras, it’s nurses and the medical superintendent who were working in the hospital back in 1918, and they can tell us their story.”
The 90-minute tours cost $20 per ticket, and they do sell out quickly so buying tickets in advance may be necessary. Every tour starts at the Marquette Regional History Center at 145 W. Spring Street.
The remaining tours this year are:
- 1:00 p.m. tours: July 30th, August 2nd, 6th, and 13th
- 6:00 p.m. tours: July 31st, August 7th and 14th
To find out more about the history center and events that they put on, click here.