Monday, February 9, 2009

New Feature Added to Dark Destinations!

After Casey blogged a short while back about how Google Street View had mapped out the roadways in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery (see Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery), it got our gears turning. In a very short time Casey came up with a way to incorporate Street View into the maps attached to the articles in our database. Now when you read one of our articles you might be able to pay a virtual reality visit to the location you are reading about without having to copy and paste the address over to Google Maps!

While the Street View team doesn't have every road mapped out as of yet, there are plenty of Dark Destinations that can be viewed in this manner. Here are some awesome examples (click on the Street View option inside the marker balloons within the maps. You may also have to reposition your camera view to see the specific landmark):

The Amityville Horror House (Click here to view): The actual house in which the Defeo family was murdered and the Lutz family is said to have had supernatural experiences in. Despite remodeling, the house is still very recognizable in Street View.

Monroeville Mall (Click here to view): Yesterday, I was delighted to find that I could use Street View to virtually drive around the parking lot of the mall used in the 1978 George Romero film Dawn of the Dead (Speaking of which, happy belated birthday to Mr. Romero, who turned 69 last month). Just watch out for zombies in the crosswalks if you happen to visit (outside the crosswalks they are fair game).

Eastern State Penitentiary (Click here to view): The former prison that once held Al Capone and is said to be haunted.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): The Thompson House (Click here to view): The house used as the fictional home of Nancy Thompson and her mother in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The street view team apparently took their photos in 2007, while the house was being renovated. You can see the scaffolds that surrounded the house at that time in Street View mode. The renovations have been completed since.

The Lincoln Tunnel (Click here to view): It is possible to use Street View to travel through the same tunnel that Larry Underwood traverses in pitch darkness in Stephen King's The Stand.

Halloween (1978): The Myer's House (Click here to view): The house used as the childhood home of Michael Myers in John Carpenter's film Halloween can be seen at a slight distance in Street View.

Interstate 405, Los Angeles, CA (Click here to view): It is possible to recreate on your computer the infamous O.J. Simpson police car chase down Interstate 405. As you click through, you'll possibly be moving at the same slow pace the white Ford Bronco took on its way to the Juice's former mansion. The mansion has been torn down since and won't be waiting at the end for your online journey.

These are many other places that can be viewed in this manner as well. We're currently in the process of adjusting markers on the article maps to provide visitors with the best view of locations possible when they first enter Street View mode. Not all locations have the Street View capability, but Google is continuously adding new photos. Keep checking back to see what new thing has been added.

-Tom G

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