Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Tim Huntington of 'Historic Traveler' Magazine
Aired June 22, 2002 - 09:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, summer vacation time, and Independence Day's around the corner. You may want to hit the road and discover some historic sites right here in the old U.S. of A. That's the focus of "Historic Traveler" magazine and dot-com. It shows you where to find history today.
The editor and publisher of that magazine, Tom Huntington, joining us from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hello, Tom.
TOM HUNTINGTON, "HISTORIC TRAVELER" MAGAZINE: Hello, good morning.
O'BRIEN: Good morning to you.
Let's talk about historic places. You're not far from Gettysburg. Matter of fact, my father-in-law, mother-in-law, are -- just went through there, they said it was wonderful.
HUNTINGTON: You know, Gettysburg is an extraordinary place to visit. It's about 45 minutes down the road from here. And pivotal point in the Civil War, and for any Civil War enthusiast, it's a must- see.
O'BRIEN: Now, we're watching one of the recreations that they do there to mark the anniversary, of course. When you're there and it's just silent, it's equally powerful, isn't it?
HUNTINGTON: I would say it's even more powerful when you can be alone with your thoughts and just think about what happened there. It would be 140 years ago next year, the thousands of people who fought and died on this very ground.
O'BRIEN: Well worth a trip.
All right, let's head out West, shall we? Another place, one of the -- it's really a fascinating story. The more you learn about Mount Rushmore and how this was one man's vision, incomplete vision, we should add, and how he...
HUNTINGTON: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'BRIEN: ... how, against all odds, he tried to finish this project, it's really quite a tale, isn't it? HUNTINGTON: It is. Gutson Borglum (ph) was the sculptor. It was pretty much his vision, his dream, and he spent years working on it, until, I believe he stopped in 1941 when World War II started for the United States.
And it's just an awe-inspiring sight. You see it so many times, it's like an icon, but to actually go there in person and see how huge this sculpture is is just mind-boggling.
O'BRIEN: Think about "North by Northwest" whenever you see it, right?
HUNTINGTON: Absolutely. Although Hitchcock did not film that on Mount Rushmore, he did that all on a set.
O'BRIEN: There's a little bit of history for you right there.
And speaking of sets. Hollywood, I would not necessarily put this in the historic category necessarily, at least not off the top of my head. You would, though.
HUNTINGTON: Absolutely. I think, you know, Hollywood movies have changed the way we look at the world. I mean, it's a touchstone for everyone. And you can go out to Hollywood and you can see the studios where those films were made, Paramount Pictures is still there, the gate that Gloria Swanson drove through in "Sunset Boulevard" is still there.
Of course, Graumann's Chinese Theater and the famous footprints and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which is the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony. I mean, it's all out there, and it's just great to see and realize how important movies are to us as a people.
O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to run through a couple of things real quick, Mesa Verde, Williamsburg, Independence Hall. All those seem pretty logical historic places.
Fenway Park is on your list.
HUNTINGTON: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: One of my favorite places in the world. And this is a place they'd like to -- well, I don't know if they'll ever knock it down, but they'd like to move the Red Sox, which is a sad statement right there, isn't it?
HUNTINGTON: Well, you know, the new owners of the Red Sox, who took over this year, I think, realizing the importance of Fenway, and they're opening it up for public events now. And they realize that people want to be on that ballpark, they want to see Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark, you know, in the major leagues. It opened in 1912, although it was pushed off the front pages because the "Titanic" sank that weekend.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, yes, little bit of history. All right, Fenway Park, from Gettysburg to Fenway Park, we invite you to read about that and much more in the pages of "Historic Traveler" magazine. You have a Web site, is it historictraveler.com?
HUNTINGTON: That's correct.
O'BRIEN: All right. Check it out. Thank you very much, Tom Huntington, we appreciate your joining us.
HUNTINGTON: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
