Virtual Tourism via Google Street View

[Unimatic1140]

If any of you out there are like me and find travel and geography fascinating you probably already know about this. But just in case you haven't heard yet Google has an amazing newer feature built into their maps called street view. The Google Street View cars capture images via a camera mounted on top of a standard passenger car with eight lenses. They drive through cities, towns and the countryside capturing the landscape just as you would see it in a car. During the first year and a half of photo capture in 2007/2008 they used lower resolution pictures which are just "ok" but absolutely nothing like the stunning newer images of the last year. Unfortunately what that means is for most of the USA, Australia and Japan are in lower resolution but the rest of the available international street view is simply stunning! The good news is Google is currently reshooting Australia in hi-res and is also slowly updating the USA pictures. Dallas and Miami are now in hi-res. Canada was recently added to Street View, I drove "virtually" all the way through Saskatoon, Saskatchewan over the weekend. Last month over the course of a few evenings during some down time I drove through Prague in the Czech Republic starting from a random far suburban location, all the way into and through downtown Prague and out to the airport. It was simply amazing. Then I did the same thing through Milan, Italy. There was so much detail in these images that I really feel like I know what its like to be in these very different cities. You can move through these cities at approximately 20 miles per hour <br
Here is an example, Google allows you to embed street view right into another website, such as aw.org. Here is simply a random street in Toronto that I plopped down onto and started driving. <br
Do this <br
#1 Take your mouse and click in the center of the picture below
#2 Using your arrow keys (mac or pc, it doesn't matter), click the up arrow to drive forward the down street. With each click you move forward
#3 Now use your left and right arrow keys to turn your head around,
#4 Move forward down the street in the either direction of the white line, when you get an intersection turn left or right depending on which way you want to travel and continue forward in that direction. <br
In a bit I'll post more about how to use the Street View "Peg" man to drop down onto a map and drive the city. <br
Super Cool eh <br
<iframe width="1000" height="750" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/sv?cbp=...708&v=1&panoid=HbJtwIf-fwTvzSmerScgGQ&gl=&hl="></iframe>
<small>View Larger Map</small>

 

[toploader55]

That's Incredible

Very, Very, Cool
Thanks Robert, Eddie

 

[duetboy]

How about when...

...google earth catches your brother-in-law weedeating the ditch <br
duetbo
aka Jeff

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, they're supposedly trying not to capture people if possible. Around here, Google has started using a trike to navigate various trails in the open space preserves and capture those views. Just a few days ago I showed a friend my sister's house in L.A. and was able to take him up the hill behind her place and show him the view of Griffith Observatory and part of the downtown skyline from there. Fun stuff <br
Less than a year ago, our house was impossible to see on street view due to a large Mulberry tree in the parking strip. That tree was diseased and splitting down the middle, and was removed about a year ago. I recently pulled up street view for our address, and there's already a new image there with the new Ginkgo tree I planted in the parking strip last January. Google Earth, however, still has the big Mulberry blob on it <br
Robert, I'm looking forward to seeing how to best manipulate the "peg" man. I seem to end up on the wrong side of the street or facing the wrong direction when I pull him down <br
Ralph

 

[toggleswitch2]

'Tis quite fun, though.

Proving once again that there is no such thing as privacy as we now all live in glass houses. The trick is to learn how to urinate elegantly...........

 

[joelippard]

Yeah Robert, it's really cool, I've used it several times, rarely do I just relax and "travel" with it, I usually have an agenda in using it...

 

[petek]

It's great. I was showing it to my mom a while back, she's 85 and originally from Manchester UK, we typed in all her old addresses from childhood, her schools etc, downtown etc and even though much of it has gone and some changed so much she still could recognize and point out buildings etc. For some reason our first house in Calgary they did the back alley and never did the street front, can't figure that one out. They haven't come here yet. Just this morning someone on the vaccum site posted an old 20's ad for kirby with the Cleveland and Toronto mfg address so I streetviewed those to see what they look like now.. The toronto addresss is gone now a huge intersection across the street from the Royal York Hotel but at least I know where it was next time I'm there.

 

[Unimatic1140]

I noticed that on the PC that the embeded street view directly in this post acts kinda buggy on my PC, my Mac seems to be more stable with it. So ignore that picture above try it directly on google maps <br
So anyway to use street view go to <a href=http://maps.google.com target=_blank>maps.google.com<a>. Type in a city name such as I did in this example, Rome Italy and press enter. When the map appears you can zoom in closer first if you wish then simply take your mouse and pull the pegman off onto the map.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Once you pull the pegman onto the map, any street, road, avenue, freeway, etc that has streetview available will turn blue <br
You see the green circle below the pegman (i'm pointing to it with the red line), that is where you are going to land when you let the mouse button go and it will send you down to the street, ready to drive.

 

[Unimatic1140]

If you find an interesting place that you would like to share with us, click on the link button and copy the address in the top box, paste it into the "URL Link to share:" field when creating your post, like this, give it a second to load once you click that link...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...r=c&cbll=41.896859,12.495495&panoid=e9gIO4TsF

 

[Unimatic1140]

and now the best part, the way I drive through these cities is in full screen mode, click the box in the upper right hand corner to enter full screen mode (escape to exit full screen mode) and drive around!

 

[Unimatic1140]

this is so cool and its just the beginning. Microsoft is going to want to compete with google so the healthy competition will make for some amazing new ways to travel virtually.

 

[bajaespuma]

Thanks for the tip!!!!

I'm a bridge nut as well as a vintage appliance nut and Google maps have helped me find TONS of new bridges all over the world. I just follow major rivers with the cursor and there they are! Now I'll see if they're driving these camera cars over some of these bridges as well.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Bridges are cool!

You can drive over most bridges as far as I've seen, where is that bridge located that you posted above Ken?

 

[sudsmaster]

;-)

I really dig that dual rear axles six wheel Jeep Cherokee in the first pic.. <br
;-

 

[mielabor]

Uh-oh, I see that my street is now also covered...

Luckily I live on the second floor so you can't look inside :- <br
I also notice that the images are quite recent. I can see the mosquito screen of my new neighbours that has been installed this summer.

 

[mrb627]

Laundramat Thread

How about using this new tool to locate pictures of classic laundramats around this country. We can start a new thread.. <br
Malcolm

 

[bajaespuma]

OK, now what and where's that tandem bridge?

Argentina, the old Santa Fe bridge.

 

[Unimatic1140]

<i>How about using this new tool to locate pictures of classic laundramats around this country. We can start a new thread</i
I was thinking the same thing Malcolm, except we should make it favorite laundromats and appliance stores from all over the world <br
<i>OK, now what and where's that tandem bridge?</i
Ken that is the Hennepin Avenue Bridge here in Minneapolis

 

[petek]

Here's our Bluewater Bridge,, leaving Port Huron Michigan into Sarnia Ontario

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou....307617&t=h&z=12&layer=c&cbll=42.998924,-82.4

 

[rp2813]

Let's see if this works

A link to one of the last big neon displays that's still in business here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...ara,+California+95128&ll=37.323451,-121.93002

 

[petek]

Narrowest Building in the world

Here's what is claimed to be the narrowest building in the world in Vancouver BC. Look closely at the building with the second story red bay windows on the corner..it's only about 4 feet deep behind all those glass windows fronting the street. The building behind it, slightly taller is not part of the same building. Forget the history now,,something about a man who owned a 6 ft strip fronting the street in the early part of the 20th century and the city wanting to annex the land from him because they felt it was unusable so he built this.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...359.995193&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=49.280492,-1

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Interesting view of Wall st. NYC

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...&spn=0.018349,0.043988&t=p&z=15&layer=c&cbll=

 

[rp2813]

I can top that Wall Street view

Check out this pile of public art

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...nia+95113&ll=37.331027,-121.888311&spn=0,359.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Ugh, that Western Appliance sign is simply delicious!!! These are fabulous.

 

[crevicetool]

Pete!!!!

Concerning the view of the skinniest building ever in the world picture. Do I see trolley wires? If so, where are the rails? Or are these for buses?

 

[rp2813]

Vancouver has the same type of electric trolley bus system as San Francisco does. That's why there are no rails. I loved it when I still saw the old-school buses running on the wires up there. That was a long time ago. I'm sure they've all been replaced now, just as they were in SF so many years ago.

 

[rp2813]

The Western Appliance Sign

Used to have three strobe lights, one on top of each spire. They'd flash sequentially. I'd watch them out of my high school Spanish classroom window on dark rainy days.

 

[rp2813]

OK, No more "Western" after this one . . .

This is a motel in the city of Santa Clara. They are not very preservation-friendly there. This sign used to be well maintained, but less and less of the neon lights up anymore. As you can see from the "HATED OOL" wording, the entire sign is being ignored by the current ownership. I just hope the city doesn't allow it to be removed completely. This is one of the many motels along El Camino Real from the days before there were any major freeways circling the SF Bay.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...nia+95050&ll=37.352292,-121.964024&spn=0,359.

 

[coldspot]

The place that has sky high prices. They use to be a sears dock. Now there a western auto home store. I did buy a deep freezer from them. Was there the other day to find a filter for the vent hood.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=385+e...X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CA