Google Maps Meets MC Escher

Down in our comment threads, a bunch of people have been discussing the way Google Maps stiches together satellite photos. Their process sometimes produces fairly trippy mistakes as photos taken at various times of day get merged. Travis Harris marked up this shot of the South Street Seaport:

Key: Red arrows assist in showing satellite viewing angle Light blue line is my best attempt at telling where they glued it together dark blue is me tracing the shadows to show different time of day/angle (this of course can be offset by the buildings) green circle is me pointing out an instance of two building sharing the same space!

Very cool stuff-- have any of you spotted any Google Map weirdness that tops this?

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By Jake Dobkin in Miscellaneous on January 31, 2006 2:41 PM

Comments [rss]

Gwinny

As dude pointed out, the photos for NYC were actually taken at different points of the year. You can actually see this by putting in an address like 10 Central Park West (the Park shows up in two different seasons!) or an address on the Lower East Side.

nisey79

I looked up my address on Google Maps; it directed me to the wrong building (other end of the block).

Peter Kirn

Ah yes, I was looking at exactly this stitch, as my apartment lies sadly under that green circle.

Though maybe this explains why it's so darned dark here. I think the Google Map may be right.

Note you can also turn on 3D buildings mode in Manhattan, for those of you who haven't found it yet, for even odder visual juxtapositions (it's fairly useless other than to see the profile of Manhattan from a distance.)

Sterski

something weird happening at columbus circle

hashashin

Near the Verizon building that Jake mentioned, there are three buildings that all seem to be leaning in a counter-clockwise circle. Very Escher indeed.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1095+6th+ave,+10036&ll=40.755425,-73.984144&spn=0.003035,0.00603&t=k

you may need to close the address balloon and zoom in a bit for best effect.

M

In Boston - check out the north Museum Towers building and the EF Building "touching" - these two structures are across the street from each other.

Check it out - start at the Museum of Science and go north a few hundred feet:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1+science+park,+Cambridge,+MA&ll=42.370036,-71.071321&spn=0.001128,0.002714&t=k

e

try to look at the federal reserve,notice there is no roof whatsoever,instead it is coverd by another building!

Jake

Bryant Park - Verizon Building and Grace Building have been joined...

I've had it - not going back t

yeah - the roof of the white house - and buildings around the area - are greyed out so you can't see the missle launchers and anti terrorist plasma ray guns.

BigMac

In Google Earth, there is an obvious stitch in the area between 59th and 60th Streets that runs the width of Manhattan (Look closely at the Time Warner Center).