Originally built for WWI (although not completed before the war ended), the SS Palo Alto is an oil tanker unusually built using concrete. After sitting in dock for years doing nothing Palo Alto was permanently grounded at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California in 1929 to serve as an amusement ship. Connected to the shore by a long pier, Palo Alto boasted an arcade, dining room, dance hall and swimming pool.

Unfortunately, the owners soon went out of business and Palo Alto was stripped down and turned into a fishing pier. Over time the ship has been battered by the waves and is now in a bit of a state. Hooey History has ground level photos showing how Palo Alto once looked, and how she looks now.

Thanks: John King & Steve S

This is Berlin’s world famous triumphal arch, The Brandenburg Gate, which these days symbolises the freedom and unity of the city. Built in 1771, it is the only remaining one of a series of eighteen gates through which people originally had access to the city. The gate is topped by the Quadriga, a statue of the goddess of peace driving a four-horse chariot, which I think you can see right in the middle of our thumbnail. Ironically the gate was incorporated into the Berlin wall during the Cold War.

Thanks to Carl Russmann, Salinga, merien_took, Caius Toneriko, Roland, Andy Steffen, Kristian, Rick Herrmann, Frank Castle, JensMinor, Bodo, Chris, Thomas van Longerich and finally Blou.

This is Wohnanlage Moabiter Werder (Moabiter island housing?) which sits just to the west of the main government district in Berlin, and although I believe it’s residential housing for parliamentary staff, Google’s automatic translation doesn’t help much.

But never mind that… it looks like a ginormous snake! How cool is that!?

Vielen Dank Vince L.

Manchester Airport is the third busiest airport in the UK so there’s planes to see all over the place as well as a passenger jet coming in to land.

Also dotted around Manchester Airport there’s giant footballs painted on the grass, one in the middle of some planes, and two at either side of the runway. This is the logo of the Champions League so the satellite photo might have been taken around May 2003, when the final between AC Milan and Juventus took place at Old Trafford.

Old Trafford is the home to one of the most famous football clubs in the world, Manchester United. The stadium is currently undergoing renovation to add corner seating stands and will host preliminary men’s and women’s football matches during the 2012 Olympics.

The City Of Manchester Stadium is the home to Manchester City Football Club and was constructed for the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. The stadium is also home to B of the Bang, the tallest sculpture in the UK (although I don’t think it had been constructed when the satellite photo was taken).

Thanks: Adam, Nick, Stephen Jackson, Brad Middleton, Andy, Alexander Danling, David de Hora, Ali Wightman, Mark B, Peter Bindon, redstar1, Jake Danesh, Slepek, Jayson Gabler, Andy Shelbourne, Simon Cope, chris, Shane, Bryan Robson, Simon Sutcliffe, David Y, smspro, Fai Sheng, redstar1

Update: I’m a numpty. After 556 unique entries, I finally managed to post a sight which James had already posted. I guess it had to happen sooner or later…

This is Berlin’s Siegessäule, or in English ‘The Victory Column’. The column was built to celebrate the military successes of Prussia over Denmark, and was originally positioned in front of the Reichstag. Hitler decided to move the column in 1938, and added 7.5 metres to its height while he was at it, bringing the column’s total height to an impressive 66.89 metres (although the bronze statue of Victoria on top is 8.3 metres alone!) There’s a good ground level shot here which gives you a great impression of scale, and the Wikipedia page has a more detailed history.

The column is featured in Wim Wenders’ film Wings of Desire… Never heard of it? It’s the movie they re-made into City of Angels.

Thanks to Markus, Joe Kay, Cindywho, Dominik Freitag Sven Walther, Valentin, Mark Tennant, Martin, Lars, Markus and Ananya Gupta.