Google Street View Launched in Davis

Is that a GPS-enabled panoramic camera or is GoogleMaps just excited to see Davis?

A little over a year ago, my buddy Brian and I attended the Where2.0 Conference.  It's the annual mecca for all things GPS/GIS related.  We were stoked to be in the audience when the good folks at Google announced the launch of 'Street View' on their GoogleMaps platform.  At the time, you could simply type in an address in SF or NYC and get a 360 degree, panaromic, street level view rather than a tired old map.

Now, to little or no fanfare Google has added this option in our own little burg.

Direct your web portal browser thingy to: maps.google.com and type in a Davis address, click on "Street View" in the upper right hand corner, then click on the little yellow man on the map and prepare to be amazed. 

ALSO, in the directions portion of the site, be sure to also check out the "Public Transit" option.  Google will tell you how to get from Point A to Point B in Davis via public transportation.

After the jump, more musings about this fancy new technology.

So, how has Google captured all of this data about our fair city?  They drove a car with the aforementioned camera bulb attached to the roof and drove up and down every street.  Also in the car was a GPS device that automatically tagged the digital pictures with precise location information as the photos were taken.  Then, paste the photos all together and you have a panoramic view.

Although the free product has generated some controversy over concerns about invasion of privacy, you can rest assured that the Google cars only toured our fair community once about 8 months ago.

Help me pinpoint the date, will ya?  I know that it was before The Great Power Outage of 2008 because the trees in front of Mayor Ruth Asmundson's home are still standing.  Also, if you travel down C Street you can tell that the deed was committed on a Saturday during Farmers' Market after Burgers & Brew built their patio but before the sign went up.  I'm thinking late October 2007.

Odd note: If you're traveling North down C Street from 2nd Street, you can see the Farmers' Market in full effect.  But, from any other view, Central Park is empty.  Perhaps the driver of the GoogleMobile has instructions to shy away from large groups of people.

Also, feel free to send me any funny candid photos you may find while perusing our streets i.e. public officials jaywalking, wild turkeys roosting on cars.

Oh, and you're welcome for introducing you to a fantastic lil' time waster.

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Comments

[Jeremy]

I think your estimate is probably about right. In my hometown of Murrieta, I actually witnessed one of these cars drive by at some point in August, and the view went online about two months ago. So it seems that the street view gestation period is about 8 months, meaning it was probably October when the car went through Davis, all things being equal.

[Donna]

Very interesting. I wonder why I haven't read anything about this in The Enterprise. Those Google drivers must get an early start on the day: in the downtown area looking East the sun is still very low in the sky. But, not too early to see at least 10 people sitting outside of Starbucks & Posh Bagel on F Street.

Can anyone increase the resolution so that we can see the front page of a newspaper?

[West Davis Biker]

On the corner of Hubble & Bermuda (going south on Hubble), is that a newspaper delivery person or someone who rode a long way to get their groceries via bike?