Google Maps for Ann Arbor has Street Views
by Van
Type in an address in Ann Arbor in Google Maps and you can now see the Street View.
Street View gives you a photographic view of the street and allows you to move up and down the block and to pan to the right or left and to zoom in on houses or businesses or pedestrians. The gas station at Packard and Stadium has gas for sale for $2.89/gallon so the drive-by must have been a while ago. It was garbage day at my house. You can see the garbage bin, the recycle bins, and the compost bin in front of the house. The addresses on streets are approximate so you may have to move up or down the block to find the address you are seeking.
Arbor Update has a blog about Street View. Trying to sleuth the exact date/dates seems to be one of the pleasures for users. Some areas appear to have been covered on a football Saturday.
Take a look. Interesting and fun. The Michigan Theater was showing Born into Brothels. You cannot quite read the menu posted outside Zanzibar. The Y is still standing across from the Downtown Library.
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Comments
Gah! Thank goodness for
[img_assist|nid=10609|title=Sycamore Tree|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=47]
Gah! Thank goodness for the giant Sycamore tree outside our house! I must say, I initially scoffed at those who were creeped out by Google Maps Streetview, but now I understand their apprehension. What an interesting world we live in...
I don’t know. I kind of
I don’t know. I kind of like it for nostalgia’s sake. I saw my elementary school and childhood home which aren’t in Michigan. This alone isn’t every exciting, but you can see the changes they have made to the house. The new owners replaced the floor to ceiling windows on either side of the door with wood and smaller panes of glass. The windows they replaced were probably the ones my parents put in after my younger sisters broke one of the original pair while racing to the door after they locked me out (on purpose). Memories.
Also, if you are paranoid like me and are constantly afraid of missing a bus stop, street view allows you to plan ahead and sometimes see the stops on the side of a road. Look up the [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=huron+parkway+and+traverwood+ann+arbor+mi… of Huron Parkway and Traverwood] and rotate the view to see the [http://www.aadl.org/buildings/traverwood|new branch] under construction. Zoom down Huron Parkway, and you can see where the bus stops on either side of the road!
Lastly, look up the [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=343+s.+fifth+avenue+ann+arbor+mi&rls=com… Library] and mosey north on Fifth. Can you find the person crossing the street?
On the Google street view
On the Google street view pictures of my street, there's a house about a block down, with an inflatable ghost as Halloween decoration in the front yard. That, coupled with the color of the leaves on the ground, indicates that the pictures of my area were taken during October 2008.
My initial response to the street view of Ann Arbor was dazed amazement coupled with a slight paranoia. We're being watched all the time, however, and this example isn't even a live action one, like the observations at bank machines, high schools, and who knows where else. It's cool to see our town captured at particular moments in time. I wonder if/when the pictures will be updated.