And no, I don't mean the 2 guys fighting beside the street. Not even that fake Prada storefront beside the road in far west TX. Most people know about those. But something that caught you off-guard or maybe was an enlightening addition to your road searches via Street View. Something you didn't realize was on or beside that road or street.
I was doing something else non-roads wise online yesterday but with the help of the aerials on Google Maps. The mapping was on Celina, a town north of Dallas where I haven't been (as of yet). So, I puttered around, looking at the downtown area, and each end of the Bus TX 289 route. I'd forgotten how far out from the center of town the northern reach of the business route went before getting back to TX 289. I decided to catch the street view of that vicinity, and it's mostly blink-and-miss, largely nondescript. But, on the corner, I see this: http://goo.gl/maps/9Go1x
I thought it was strange to see an old business that didn't look like a gas station there. Nothing else around, practically BFE countryside. Mind you, Celina's new high school is just over a small hill to the south, but this corner building is so old, it clearly pre-dates the current high school. Zooming closer, I thought that it looked like a Dairy Queen, but no. Not all the way the **** out there. But, I looked down Bus TX 289 a few clicks: http://goo.gl/maps/g3nPU
And a few clicks more: http://goo.gl/maps/Ot7lJ
Holy crap, this was an old Dairy Queen from ages ago. I could make out the front awning's labelscars: 'Live a little!' at [Dairy Queen]; and the side awning's: BURGERS SHAKES SUNDAES .
Ever since, I've been between :confused: and :pan: in amazement. I would never have thought I'd find the remains of an old chain restaurant *there*. Maybe an old gas station or old farmhouse or barn. Why would anyone try to put something at that lonely corner when that type of place is typically found in town somewhere?
OK, now that I've had my GSV surprise for a while, anybody else come upon something surprising or odd in their GSV 'travels'?
it once let me "drive" 30 feet without crashing. that was kind of an oddity, and definitely a surprise.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on April 17, 2014, 04:57:52 PM
it once let me "drive" 30 feet without crashing. that was kind of an oddity, and definitely a surprise.
Old or new google maps?
Not really an oddity or surprise, and I've mentioned it before, but there's a GSV view from 3 years ago of me photographing the GSV car in Minnesota.
At this location, on the 2009 imagery, used to stand an original red "Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est" shield. Steve almost planned a trip just to get a picture.
I went to check it out that very weekend, it was in 2011. Disappointment ensued.
https://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.264429,-72.155789&spn=0.006487,0.009645&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=45.26453,-72.155858&panoid=PcyrkywQBGCGyqwIu2O0dA&cbp=12,257.87,,1,-3.35
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on April 24, 2014, 09:05:58 AM
original red "Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est" shield.
what was the history of the colors on those? I have seen a blue one on the same post as a red, white and blue route 20 shield.
More a coincidence than an oddity or surprise, but I can tell from looking at my house that the Street View car came through during a specific three-day period in early October 2012 when my wife and I were out of town (how can I tell? Because my wife's car was in the driveway, which normally it is not, and it had a political sticker on the rear window, which pinpoints the year....normally the only sticker on her rear window is a Washington Capitals "weagle" logo).
They must've just added my street to GSV, because I know I tried looking it up about a month ago and couldn't find anything.
The street car came thru in October, 2013. While the date is shown at the bottom, it's also very obvious as my yard is filled with Halloween decor. Based on the shadows, the car came down in the morning. Wife's car is in the street; my car is missing, and none of the carpool vehicles are there (as they meet at my house). Best guess is it came down the street on a weekend morning when we were away on vacation.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on April 24, 2014, 09:07:51 AM
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on April 24, 2014, 09:05:58 AM
original red "Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est" shield.
what was the history of the colors on those? I have seen a blue one on the same post as a red, white and blue route 20 shield.
Both the shields and guide signs were red in the beginning. They were changed to blue in the late 60s or early 70s (the blue guide signs are still standing at exit 55), and the triangular shield was abolished in the 1980s following the transfer of the OAQ toll agency's assets to the MTQ.
Here's a link to the 2009 imagery. https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.26453,-72.155858,3a,15y,266.98h,89.17t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1shedYiG441nf-bTBvhKcUvg!2e0 (of course, Google adds support for displaying old imagery on the very day that I need that feature).