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Google Earth: This Is (1945) London

Google has added new historical imagery for London on Google Earth. It allows users to see images of how the city looked during recent history, in this case 1945 and various points forward to the present. Below are three “yesterday” and “today” images from the new London archive:

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You can access this archival photography by using the clock icon in the horizontal toolbar at the top of the map. A slider appears that shows the points in time for which there are images. Here’s a tutorial on how to invoke historical imagery.

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Google has been adding more and more historical imagery to Earth and it exists for cities in the US in many cases and numerous locations throughout Europe. I wasn’t able to find a comprehensive list of the places around the world where you could see archival maps and images. So you’ll just have to explore for yourself.

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About the author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.