In an effort to attract families, this park features both a carousel, visible in the north-west corner of the stadium grounds, and a ferris wheel with ball-shaped cars.

Home to the Tigers, there are feline statues and motifs all over the building, including this 4.5m tall figurehead at the entrance to the stadium, flanked by two giant baseball bats. Note that the struts holding up the name sign are also bat-shaped!

The blue tank in centre field is a large fountain which gives elaborate displays between innings and after every Tiger score. Note the vehicles in each corner – the fountain is usually sponsored by one of the car manufacturers for which Detroit is renowned.

Unlike football stadiums and multi-purpose arenas, which tend to be quite generic, baseball stadiums provide architects and teams with much more freedom to add unique features to try to make their buildings attractive to the ticket-buying public.

A construction boom in the last couple of decades saw a trend towards smaller ‘retro’-styled parks topped off with design elements which range from the whimsical to the spectacular. The first of these was Oriole Park in Baltimore.

The stadium was built on former train yards owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and is officially called ‘Oriole Park at Camden Yards’. A former B&O building dominates the view from much of the park, and stretches the length of Eutaw Street which is closed on game days, with cheap tickets allowing access to standing areas with a view of the field.

When a home run lands in the street, the spot is marked with a plaque. See if you can also find the two orange seats inside the stadium that mark the locations of famous home runs!

There are two American League stadiums with retractable roofs. In Seattle, the satellite image of Safeco Field¹ shows the 3-section roof open and the infield apparently set up for some kind of corporate function, with tables and chairs and a small stage. When open, the roof is partly cantilevered over the train tracks which run past the stadium. Note that the sponsor’s huge logo is clearly visible whether the roof is open or closed.

Unlike virtually all other domed stadiums, the roof here does not fully enclose the facility to allow heating or cooling, it merely serves to protect it from the frequent rain that occurs in the Pacific Northwest.

Toronto’s variable seasons also make a domed stadium a necessity. With interesting timing, the satellite images caught the Rogers Centre²roof partway through the 20-minute rotational process of opening (or closing), showing the smallest of the segments on the west side of the building.

We also get an unusual perspective on the CN Tower, formerly the world’s tallest building, and one of the earliest sites visited by Google Sightseeing.

In New York, the new Yankee Stadium sits across just to the north of the recently-demolished original 1923 version.

The Street View images in the area allow us to see both stadiums standing side-by-side, and of course you can use Google Earth’s time slider to see how the sites have changed over many years – see prime parkland transformed into sports facility at great expense!

The focus here is on celebrating the game’s traditions, through artwork, monuments and historical items on display. Perhaps these distract game attendees from the exorbitant $2.3billion construction cost and seats which are some of the most expensive in professional sports.

Of particular controversy are those in the ‘Legends Suite’ – several rows behind home plate where seats have ranged in price from $500 to over $2,000! Opening in the midst of an economic crisis, takeup was slow, and the public perception of this zone fenced off from the surrounding fans was quite poor. As a result Yankees games on television often show many of these seats vacant.

Empty seats are also a problem on the other side of the continent where the Oakland Athletics play in a mixed-use stadium that, in 1996, had 10,000 additional seats constructed. This development – nicknamed Mount Davis after the notorious owner of the NFL’s Raiders – is covered during baseball season so that it doesn’t look so bad on television. The huge tarps, with the Athletics’ logo, are visible on Google’s recent 45 degree imagery.

Just to the south-east, in Anaheim, Angel Stadium is also visible in the 45 degree images. It is an older stadium, having opened in 1966. However, since Disney took over the team in 1996 it has been extensively modernised. Many new features have been added, including two large red caps by the main entrance, and an attempt to bring nature to the ballpark, with a rocky waterfall and trees beyond the centre field fence.

The iconic ‘Big A’ is a 70m tall metal structure that used to support the scoreboard inside the stadium. It was moved to the parking lot in the late 1970s. The ‘halo’ lights up whenever the Angels win a game.

To finish, here are a few notes about the other American League Stadiums.

Fenway Park in Boston is the oldest MLB stadium, and is best known for ‘the green monster’ – an 11m high wall in left field, though the satellite image doesn’t do it justice. (We can however see the grounds crew hard at work, and the field being setup for batting practice.) It also has a red seat marking the landing location of the longest home run, though I can’t find it on Google’s images.

In Kansas City, the Royals play in Kauffman Stadium which features a waterfall and acrobatic fountains which play between innings.

Google’s satellite images show players training on the field in Cleveland.

In Texas, Rangers Stadium is the only ballpark that I’ve noticed has its own heliport – just across the road to the west of the building. The exterior wall of the stadium is ringed with beautiful stone carvings, though they’re hard to make out on the first-generation low-res Street View images.

The Tampa Bay Rays play in a domed stadium which is actually in St Petersburg, Florida.

In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Twins play at Target Field, a new stadium not yet shown on the satellite images, though we can see it – and its dedicated transit station – mostly completed on Street View.

Finally, the Chicago White Sox play at US Cellular Field, which has a huge list of attractions – from luxury restaurants to misting rooms to cool off on hot summer days – though none of them are really visible from above.

Every stadium can be explored in more detail in the appropriate team’s section on the MLB site, and Wikipedia has good information as well.

Part two of this series will cover the National League, including a stadium with – would you believe – a swimming pool!

Locations: California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Texas, Washington / Categories: Buildings, Monuments, Stadiums and Sport, Street Views, Structures

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You have to imagine that quite a bit of work goes into naming a new place. I wonder what early pioneers were thinking when they came across these places. Perhaps they had an abundance of forks? Fork, MD and Fork, SC.

What good would a fork be without a solid cutting knife alongside? Cut Knife, Saskatchewan!

Surprisingly enough, Cut Knife is home to the world’s largest tomahawk – which, while not strictly a kitchen implement, could certainly be of assistance on occasion.

Down in southern Florida we find Coffeepot Bayou – to help you get through those rough morning hours!

Plate, Germany offers us the perfect place to serve our food…

Although don’t forget DISH, TX! Although actually, the town renamed itself from Clark to DISH (all caps intentional) in 2005 after making a commercial agreement with a satellite TV company. What did the residents get out of it? Free satellite TV of course… for ten years!

How about some lunch? Looking around we found some Rye in New York, and some Cheddar in the United Kingdom! Before you ask – no this village wasn’t named after the cheese, rather the cheese was named for the village where it was invented! However today, Cheddar today produces more strawberries than anything else. Perhaps a re-naming is in order.

Now all we need is some good ol’ corned beef. Wait! Found it! Burnt Corn, AL and Beef Island, Tortola.

Maybe later we can make some punch and serve it in the punch bowl? If we’re really feeling adventurous we could serve it in the Devil’s punch bowl – there’s quite a few to choose from!

Previously on Google Sightseeing: The world’s Longest Place Names, the brilliantly named Fucking, Austria, the Top Ten Confusing Place Names, and of course the Top Ten rudest place names in Canada, America and Britain.

Thanks to Jonathan!

Locations: Alabama, California, Germany, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, Texas, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, United Kingdom / Categories: Weirdness

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With all the other weirdness in Arizona, these symbols could only be alien communications, right? The reality is that they were created by Forest Service employees. While they were indeed thinking of how they looked from the air (do I see a face with a Picasso influence?), the intent was to improve water collection in this mostly dry pond known as Duck Lake.

Secondly, in central New Brunswick we find this network of varying zigzag lines:

I cannot come up with any explanation for this one. Aliens again? Some kind of scientific research?

Lastly, a triangular network of ponds in Maryland:

Occult practices? Yet more aliens?

If you have explanations for the last two, do let us know. And of course if you know of weird waterways in your part of the world, we’d love to see them!

Thanks to Sean McCabe, Bully, Bob and Troy Stanley.

Locations: Arizona, Maryland, New Brunswick / Categories: Weirdness

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At first glance – and with no sense of scale – this may appear to be a shoal of fish or a group of large aquatic animals. The reality is, however, you’re seeing the remains of between 100 and 200 ships, each the size of a football field, rotting slowly into the mud or being overgrown by vegetation.

During World War 1 the US Government undertook a massive shipbuilding effort – only to see hundreds of ships left idle when the War ended. The Western Marine and Salvage Company bought more than 200 ships at a cut-price rate, hoping to scrap them for their metal, but their plan went quickly astray when fire destroyed some of the ships¹, while others broke loose and sank.

169 ships were eventually towed to Mallows Bay, but after the price of scrap metal fell sharply in the stock market crash of 1929, WM&SC were soon forced into bankruptcy.

Despite several failed attempts to salvage the wrecks over the years, these rusting hulks are still with us today, but it’s evident that the local environment has adapted to accommodate them. They’re home to many species of birds and other wildlife, and the Live Maps view clearly shows that they’ve been overgrown by trees and other vegetation.

The only really identifiable wreck is that of the ferry Accomac, which was likely towed to Mallows Bay after burning in a Portsmouth shipyard in the mid-1960s.

A more detailed history can be found from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources or the Bay Weekly. And this kayak trip report has great pictures.

Thanks to Derek Lindahl and Chas Owens.

Locations: Maryland / Categories: Watercraft

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The shot tower was invented by an Englishman in 1783, and soon spread across the globe as the preferred method of making lead shot for shotguns.

The process involves pouring molten lead through a copper sieve at the top of the tower, so that droplets fall the height of the tower, taking the form of tiny perfect balls during their descent. The lead then splash-lands in a water bath at the bottom, which sets the pellet.

These days shot is made using a centrifuge, so now only a handful of the once-ubiquitous shot towers exist worldwide.

The largest shot tower that was ever built is the 80.16m tall Clifton Hill Shot Tower in Melbourne.

Probably very impressive in 1882 when it was completed, but by the standards of today’s tallest towers, it’s tiny!

More info on shot towers at Wikipedia.

Locations: Australia, Maryland / Categories: Towers

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Despite their name, Carolina Bays can also be found in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and northcentral Florida. They vary in size from one to several thousand acres, and are often gathered in groups. Many are filled with water and named as lakes, but most contain vegetated wetland.

Most striking however, is that every single one is invariably aligned in almost exactly same direction – which has led some people to claim that they might be the result of a meteor impact. It would have to have been a pretty serious impact, as there are estimated to be over 500,000 of them. This is Lake Waccamaw, north Carolina, which is widely considered the largest Carolina bay.

George Howard (a bit of a Carolina Bay fanatic), has created an exhaustive KML file that marks the location of many thousands of the bays in North Carolina. This image was taken in Google Earth, and shows the white outlines that have been used to mark the locations.

So, who here can solve the mystery of the Carolina Bays?

You can read more about Carolina Bays at Wikipedia. Thanks to Keith Wright, david and Ogle Earth.

Locations: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Weirdness

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The tiny Italian town of Palmanova was founded in 1593, and using all the military innovations of the 16th century was built in the shape of nine-pointed star. You can still see quite clearly how the shape of the ramparts allows the points of the star to defend each other. Originally a moat surrounded the town (which partially remains today), and three heavily guarded gates (1, 2, 3) were the only way in.

<br/> Palmanova, Italy (Wikipedia)

Cannons were most effective when they were fired perpendicular to the walls of the building under attack, and the star shaped design meant that to best position their weapons, attacking forces would have enter the space between the points of the star – where they would be fired on from both sides!

The judicious use of moats could further thwart the attacking forces, as demonstrated superbly here at Naarden, Netherlands.

<br/> Naarden, Netherlands (Wikipedia)

By the late seventeenth-century star forts reached the pinnacle of their development, as shown by this complicated example in Bourtange, Netherlands, which has been fully restored to how it would have been in 1742. Here we can see that the design provides defence in depth, with tiers of ramparts that an attacker would have had to overcome to be in with a chance of taking the fort.

<br/> Bourtange, Netherlands (Wikipedia)

This ingenious design quickly became the gold standard for defensive forts, and went on to spread across Europe and the Americas:

<br/> Fort Manoel, Malta (Wikipedia)

<br/> Fort McHenry, Maryland (Wikipedia)

<br/> Fort Jay (Wikipedia) and Fort Ticonderoga (Wikipedia), New York

<br/> Castillo de San Marcos, Florida (Wikipedia)

The design even reached South Africa, where today the Castle of Good Hope can be seen right in the middle of the city! It used to be on the coast, but land reclamation allowed the city to expand around it.

<br/> Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa (Wikipedia)

In the nineteenth century the development of the exploding shell changed the nature of defensive fortifications forever, and the star fort soon became utterly obsolete. Which is why several are today used for completely different purposes – like this example in Slovakia where they now spend their time trying to keep people inside rather than out.

<br/> Leopoldov Prison, Slovakia (Wikipedia)

And finally, what is probably the world’s most famous star fort isn’t actually known for being a star fort at all – as Fort Wood is today the distinctive star-shaped pedestal underneath New York’s Statue of Liberty.

<br/> Fort Wood, New York (Wikipedia)

We’ve previously featured just one star fort several star forts, including Kastellet in Copenhagen, Citadel Hill in Canada, and the aforementioned Fort McHenry in Maryland. If that’s not enough, there’s a whole page about them at Wikipedia too.

Thanks to Dan W, Manuel Hewitt, RB, tom schuring, Stefano Bertolo and Federico Cretti.

Locations: Florida, Malta, Maryland, Netherlands, New York, South Africa / Categories: Buildings, Structures

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One of them is seen here in Yuma, Arizona, where the President was making a speech about Immigration Control on May 18, 2006 (Yuma is on the US/Mexican border).

(Incidentally, there are lots of Police closing all of the roads south of Yuma on Avenue B, so the President’s motorcade must be around there somewhere!)

The fleet consists of two Boeing 747-200B aircraft, designated VC-25, specially fitted to enable the President and his entourage to conduct its business from the air. Inside, there are separate areas for the media, Secret Service and the President’s family, which includes bathrooms and dining quarters. Unlike a regular Boeing 747-400, the VC-25 can refuel in midair.

Usually its home is Andrews Air Force Base, Washington DC. The ‘President’s Wing’ can hold both of the VC-25 aircraft, as well as 3 Marine One helicopters.

In order to train the Secret Service how to protect the President when he is onboard, there is a mockup VC-25 at the James J. Rowley Training Center, near Washington DC, as well as a mockup of Marine One next to it. Once in the air however, it’s up to the anti-missile systems and electromagnetic pulse resistors to keep it safe.

Naturally, there is much more information on Air Force One over at Wikipedia. There’s even a nice floor plan available. If you really want to get a good look inside, the film Air Force One is said to have a particularly accurate recreation of the interior.

Thanks to Aaron, Adam J, Airman, Cr@X, Dan Hadad, david, gmr2048, KLashNekOff, PapaPenguin, patrick, PoopyPants, Rob, Siavash Shiva, SnowManson, Stephan, Tim, Travis Mitchell and TVGenius.

Locations: Arizona, Maryland / Categories: Aircraft, Structures

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Well it would be… if Pastor Greene had ever gotten round to finishing it. Construction began all the way back in 1976, and even today it’s little more than a frame. Clearly the Pastor isn’t expecting the next Great Flood to happen anytime soon.

More at the official site and the Wikipedia page. Thanks to Aprillo and Eric Bennett.

Locations: Maryland / Categories: Buildings, Structures

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Here’s two examples of funerals taking place, one in the Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Chicago, and the other at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Washington DC Silver Spring, Maryland. In both shots you can see a crowd of mourners surrounding the grave and also the funeral procession parked nearby.

Update: From the comments, Chris pointed out a third funeral in progress at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, CA (where several notable San Franciscans are buried, including Joe DiMaggio).

Thanks to Yoshi, Don Bruns and Chris.

Locations: California, Illinois, Maryland / Categories: Crowds

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