It looks like you all have done some great initial investigation about the options in front of you. I wanted to chime in with just a couple of suggestions:

First, several of you have mentioned coordinating with the Map Group. Keep in mind that you are able to comment on their blog, and they are able to comment on yours. An easy way to see what they are up to, and to let them know what you are up to, is to read their posts and comment.

Second, as you move forward, I think it would be worth talking some more as a group about what your mission as a group is. Unless you have a clear consensus about what you want to communicate to the listener, you will run the risk of (a) simply allowing the existing knowledge about Dowling, or the existing narrative that they will find on the markers they see, to stand unchallenged, without any new context or insight that they couldn’t already get from the marker; and/or (b) simply making your decisions on the basis of what’s most entertaining or least boring. Ideally, you will be able to come to a collective decision about what you most want to communicate to the listener, or what you most want them to get out of your walking/driving tour. Then you can decide how to meet that objective in an engaging way. If you decide what’s interesting or colorful first, before deciding on your objective, you may end up putting the cart before the horse.

I believe that some consultation with the Map group is in order but after looking through the newspaper articles that we transcribed a few weeks ago, I have figured out some important sites around the Houston area where we could potentially have stops for a podcast.

Houston Market Square–  This area is now a part of Main Street Square off of the light rail and probably gets quite a bit of foot traffic.  The statue was originally found in front of the Old City Hall on the corner of Travis and Preston.  We could potentially have a podcast here providing some background about the Battle of Sabine Pass and how this was the site of the original statue of Dick Dowling.  We could discuss the thought process that went into the making of the statue by the various groups that worked on the monument.  We could also encourage people to see the statue at its current location, in Hermann Park.

St. Vincents Cemetery– At the site of his grave, we could have podcast that details the life and heroic story of Dick Dowling.  We could talk about how he immigrated from Ireland to New Orleans and how he was a popular figure in the city of Houston.  Of course, we would speak about his participation in the Civil War, especially with regards to his exploits at the Battle of Sabine Pass.  We could also mention how the site of Dowling’s grave was practically unmarked until 1935.

Sam Houston Park–  The statue of Dick Dowling was moved from in front of the Old City Hall to Sam Houston Park.  I’m not sure what we could say about the monument here, maybe about how the statue has moved several times since 1905.

Hermann Park–  There is the potential for two podcasts for this site.  The first is a detailed history of the Battle of Sabine Pass and Dowling himself.  Seeing the statue in its full glory is the perfect setting to detail the story of Dick Dowling to the casual walker in Hermann Park.  The second podcast would be about the movement of the statue and how it fell into obscurity until its second dedication in 1997.

Sabine Pass–  I am not sure if there is any sort of memorial at the site of Sabine Pass but if there is, this would be another place to have a podcast.  You could almost repeat some of the podcasts mentioned above, such as the one providing details about the battle.  This would be less about Dowling and more about the battle itself.  However, I’ve driven past the area where Sabine Pass is and I don’t recall signs marking that there was a historic battlefield nearby.

Having listed some potential locations, my only question is how will we make this accessible to the casual walker?  Should we make the podcasts easily available by like some sort of phone number or will they have to download the podcast before or after visiting the sites?  Because it would best suit our mission if they could have almost immediate access to this information.  Just my two cents.