This article presents The City as Text’s project – a virtual memory archive from the social uprising in Chile 2019 – that responds to the urgency of preserving the memory engraved on the walls faced with the threat of being literally whitewashed. A record over a single day, through the main street in the capital city where demonstrations took place, a few days before the government censored the messages written there. Through a hybrid process: an experiential walk complemented by a virtual work allowed the creation of a new kind of memory archive. An interface that invites people all over the world to revisit memory through the streets of Santiago. At the same time, the work explores topics related to the ephemeral nature of public space; the polyphony of protests; the importance of design/technology allowing interfaces that can help people to experience, understand and study political processes, even if they are miles away. The web platform could not be translated just into data. When those codes – guided by design – invite people to take a virtual walk, the information becomes an experience. In this context, the prevailing need to record, share and make it accessible becomes a question of design. The project also dignifies the role of design by documenting heritage in new formats. The City as Text – as an alternative historical archive – is also an invitation to build a more conscious, connected, inclusive, and respectful future.