Birds of Inwood - Visit Teri's new blog about birds!

Birds of Inwood - Visit Teri's new blog about birds!
A visual journey exploring the birds of Inwood and Northern Manhattan

My Augmented New York Unreality: Google Street View's Eerie Portrait of a New York Past

(Editor's Note: Since I posted this, it looks like the Google Street View has been updated. - October, 7, 2009)

I'm experiencing a surreal and eerie flashback, because the images of Google Maps' Street View of my Greenwich Village neighborhood have become fascinatingly out of date. While opening Google maps the other day to update one of the self-guided walks on this site, I happened to switch over to Street View. There, at the southeast corner of Bleecker and MacDougal Streets, an intersection I know well, I was surprised to see the now-shuttered location of Cafe Figaro still open - tables with checkered tablecloths on the sidewalk, a couple seated at one of them, and the doors and windows open to the streets. It's been a long time, it seems, that the restaurant left the corner (it has since moved east to the middle of the block) and replaced with a Qdoba, a Mexican chain restaurant. In this uncanny altered reality, I decided to virtually stroll around the nearby streets and check out what else was open in this other-worldy Greenwich Village. After all, it looked like a nice day in there.


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What month and year was it? I ventured from this spot west to Sixth Avenue and up to the IFC Theatre. From reading the names of the films on the marquee, I was able to date the Google Street view images to late September of 2007. Walking from the theater east on W. 3rd. St. I saw that the facade of the Blue Note jazz club was revealed - the grand piano was plainly visible and not behind scaffolding like I've seen it these last few months. On Bleecker, Le Poisson Rouge had not opened on Bleecker. Senor Swanky's was still in business. Other turns on nearby blocks revealed restaurants and cafes that have departed, banks that once planned a location but have gone out of business, and storefronts not yet renovated. In a surprising discovery that may hearten preservationists (or not), in Google's Street View imagery of Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park has not been renovated.



Selecting and roaming through other neighborhoods and then comparing the sights with recent visits revealed the noticeable changes in the city over the past two years. While change is intrinsic to the life of the city, this is a particularly rich time to compare and contrast then and now. In its thousands of sequential still pictures seamed together through image software, Street View provides a ghostly image of New York at the outset of the recession, a year before the flamboyant collapse of Wall Street firms last fall.

Short of these macroeconomic issues, the Street View window back in time can help you revisit a favorite restaurant or store that has since closed. Maybe you'll wander down the street to visit a cafe and then recognize yourself sitting there. For your privacy, Google has blurred your face. You're now a ghost in your own hallucinatory reality, an apparition in your city of two years ago. Furthermore, your perspective is that of a camera on top of a truck, creating the illusion of floating above the ground, stuck in endless traffic in the middle of the street, revisiting your old haunts.

Comments

  1. Hello..Firstly, I love your blog!
    I have been wanting to return to Usa..particularly New York since 1995, & finally we are going next week, me & my 2 kids.
    The only thing is, we are going to Boston..because my husbands works apartment is located there, but I just want to spend 1 night in NYC!
    I hear its only 3 hours away by train, can you give me any advice regarding getting from Boston to NYC on a budget for 1 night?!
    I would really appreciate it
    Thank you
    Jasmine
    Ireland

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Jasmine. Thank you so much!
    I spent some time this morning checking into deals and prices for you. I love the train from Boston to New York. Good news is that Amtrak has extended its fare promotion on Northeast Regional service through December 16, 2009 with 25% off the lowest published coach fare. This promotion, according to Amtrak.com, may be combined with their Kid's Half Price fare. Definitely check into this on the Amtrak website.

    You'll be departing Boston's South Station and arriving at NY's Penn Station.(8th Ave., between W. 31st and W. 33rd.)

    If you need a hotel, NYC.com has a good list of family-friendly hotels. While I typically recommend affordable inns and European-style hotels off the beaten path, kids often like the magic of giant hotels in Midtown near Times Square. But look for the Affordable Accommodations in NY on this website. Maybe there's something in between. Do try to make your plans soon, because this is a busy time in the city.

    How exciting! I hope you have a great time.

    Teri

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pascale9:53 AM

    mm I love Google St. view, I also noticed the pictures they use were a little bit... old... but anyway ! This is my only option to stroll along the streets of NYC at the moment, being very, very pregnant... but I'll be back next year for sure !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Pascale,
    Congrats on the little one coming your way!
    The other funny images I noticed while strolling around in these Sept. 2007 Street View pix were around the Highline. It was far from opening then, and the Standard Hotel is shown during construction.
    Good luck with everything!
    Come back soon (with little one, of course), because I always love your photos of New York.
    Teri

    ReplyDelete
  5. don't you love that google map thingie ??

    i am so glad you came by and left a comment.

    i am going to add you to my sidebar
    xx

    ReplyDelete

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