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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Here’s our hero, Pac-man, eating some delicious looking dots and chasing ghosts. The scene was presumably created by the residents of this suburb in Lowell Tewksbury, Massachusetts, but it’s not clear if there was a specific reason why they went to all this effort.

The locals must have had a lot of time on their hands though, as they’ve not only recreated Pac-Man himself, but all four of the ghosts as well: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde (although we’re not positive which is which).

There are power-pellets to be collected too – three are hidden down in the cul-de-sacs.

Whatever their reasoning was, we’re mightily impressed with the locals and their dedication to vintage gaming. Hopefully they’ll consider preserving Pac-man and his enemies for years to come.

Thanks to MCBW!

For more Pac-Man history, see the Pac-man Wikipedia article.

Locations: Massachusetts / Categories: Large Type, Weirdness

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Did they know Google were on their way?

This message on a Dublin beach, “CYNTHIA, WILL YOU MARRY ME?”, nearly passes our stringent rules for acceptance of aeroplane-visible marriage proposals, but did Cynthia accept?

Thanks to LancelotLink

We’re pretty sure this crop-maze in France depicts a couple of bananas riding bicycles, but we haven’t a clue why.

Thanks to Rod

In Argentina we find another strange design decision, where somebody has arranged a whole bunch of trees into a giant guitar. For some reason this seems more sensible than the cycling bananas, but only just.

Thanks to Mick

OK, a giant guitar we kind of get, but who on Earth would want a swimming pool shaped like a foot? Somebody in Japan apparently.

Thanks to Jamie

Crazy roads

This ridiculously bendy road in the mountains of Chile must surely be a contender for the most bends covering the shortest distance award. As the crow flies, obviously.

Thanks to Shaun

Meanwhile, we suspect these “speed bumps” would cause a little more slowdown than required on Interstate 91, Massachusetts. If you drove really fast at them however…

Thanks to Meredith

You’d never see this any other way

This chilling scene capture the remains of a wrecked boat on the shores of a remote Antarctic island.

Thanks to Brian

In the news

Last week Apple announced iCloud, a new “cloud”-based music and data service for all you squillions of iPad and iPhone users – and here’s the brand spanking new facility in North Carolina where all your data will be stored (once you’ve unquestioningly uploaded it all of course).

Elsewhere, the actions of some unruly New Zealand students made headlines around the world when they did what students have done since students were invented – they drew pictures of penises. Except these students did it on a much larger scale than your average students. Compensating for something boys?

Have you found something weird, amazing, beautiful or completely inexplicable on Google Maps or Google Earth? Send us your suggestions and we’ll publish the best ones next week!

Locations: Antarctica, Argentina, Chile, France, Ireland, Japan, Massachusetts, New Zealand, North Carolina / Categories: Abandoned, Large Type, Other Vehicles, Watercraft, Weirdness

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The rocky East Coast of North America is dotted with islands and rocky shoals which have been a treacherous problem for ships since the beginning of cross-Atlantic seafaring. Many of the famous coastal shipwrecks are the result of sandbars – shifting, shallow mounds of sediment often hiding just beneath the surface of the water and impossible to detect at night. Ships run aground on the invisible sandbars, sometimes incurring serious damage and ending up beached when the tide rolls out.

A number of islands and coastal features, notorious for attracting shipwrecks due to their prevalence for sandbars, have received the ominous nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic”.

1. Sable Island, Nova Scotia (Canada)

Sable Island is a narrow, 42 km long crescent-shaped barrier island¹ about 180 km off the coast of Nova Scotia. Perhaps the oldest and best documented of the Atlantic Graveyards, between 1583 and 1999 Sable Island lured over 350 ships to their doom.

Most of the shipwrecks have today been washed away or buried by the shifting sands, and the Google imagery of the island doesn’t include any visible wrecks; but the precarious sandbars are visible just off the island’s edges.

The government of Nova Scotia has produced a map listing the location, names, and dates of about 200 Sable Island shipwrecks which occurred between 1797 and 1946.

Sable Island today is a nature preserve, known as much for its wild horses and endemic species as for its dark nautical history.

2. Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA)

Perhaps Massachusetts’ most noticeable geographic feature, Cape Cod is the large “hook” extending from the state’s south shore. Known today as a major seaside resort area, and the playground of New England’s upper classes, Cape Cod was one of the first places visited and settled by Europeans in the New World. As a result, it became a major shipping destination from colonial times through the 1800s.

While the long peninsula offers excellent protection from storms and heavy ocean currents to the inner waters of Cape Cod Bay, the interaction with the ocean generates many long, treacherous shoals. Over 3,000 ships are believed to have wrecked off the shore of Cape Cod between 1626 and 1898, including American War of Independence vessels like the decorated HMS Somerset. Over 20 lighthouses lie along Cape Cod’s eastern shoreline to warn navigators of the danger.

The sheer amount of shipwrecks on Cape Cod made it a haven for “mooncussers“, the pejorative term for scavengers who would, upon discovery of a wreck, rush out in skiffs and gather up any lost cargo and other goods, to then sell for their own profit. During this time the Cape became known as “Graveyard of Ships“.

Recently, the remains of a 19th century 50-foot schooner washed ashore on Newcomb Hollow Beach, well-preserved by the shifting sands for an estimated 90 years or more, so perhaps you’ll be the one to discover more undiscovered wrecks in the satellite imagery.

3. Outer Banks, North Carolina (USA)

From North Carolina to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia lies a series of barrier islands known as the Outer Banks. Like the long, curved shores of Sable Island and Cape Cod, this coastline has been responsible for over 1,000 shipwrecks dating as far back as 1526. Just like the others, this stretch of shore is also nicknamed “Graveyard of the Atlantic”, but it’s also home to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.

The coast between South Carolina and Virginia is lined with sunken vessels, many of them naval ships such as the most famous of the area’s shipwrecks, the USS Monitor, an early ironclad warship that saw action during the U.S. Civil War. The Association of Underwater Explorers has a map showing some of the most notable shipwrecks off the North Carolinian coast.

(Another area known for its shipwrecks is the Florida Keys, with hundreds of shipwrecks dating as far back as 1733. This area has not been granted the title “Graveyard of the Atlantic” but is known as Shipwreck Trail.)

You can read more about Sable Island, Cape Cod and the Outer Banks at Wikipedia.

Locations: Massachusetts, North Carolina, Nova Scotia / Categories: Islands, Watercraft

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The north island of New Zealand is home to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki- maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Generally called Taumata, the Maori name for this 305m high hill in it’s full form can be translated as The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one, though there are a number of other forms with different meanings.

In Wales we find the the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Often shortened to Llanfair PG, the name was invented in the 1860s as a means to attract tourists and can be translated as St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave. Wikipedia has a helpful guide to pronunciation should you wish to visit.

Massachusetts is home to Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaug.

More commonly called Webster Lake, the name comes from the native Nipmuck language and means fishing place at the boundary, though again there are other forms with different meanings.

While the above are all names with a single word, the Guinness World Record for longest official name gives the title to the city of Bangkok: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

This translates as The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam. More info at Wikipedia.

Thanks to Shea Marshall and Dave Lartigue.

Locations: Massachusetts, New Zealand, Thailand, Wales / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Weirdness

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Although it seems this election has been in the news for the last four years, there’s little mention of Obama or McCain on the images of Google Earth. However, we can find messages to the skies about the soon-to-be ex-President.

Underneath the approach to McCarran International Airport, someone has scrawled a message on the roof urging you to “Vote Bush” which, luckily, America is prevented from doing this time around.

In contrast, we find a “No W” logo in Lakewood Park, Massachusetts. It’s possible that this person is simply expressing their hate for the twenty-third letter of the alphabet, but the symbol is more commonly used to protest against George W Bush.

Whoever you prefer, we urge our American readers to stop messing about on the internet and go and vote.

Thanks to Brian LaPointe & SpiderX22

Locations: Massachusetts, Nevada / Categories: Large Type

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When Street View first launched we posted about this huge Jack-o’-lantern spotted off U.S. Route 287 in Broomfield, Colorado.

Since then somebody found this house on Adams Street¹ in the town of Easthampton, Massachusetts, which has been completely obscured by inflatable Halloween decorations, including a terrifying Tigger, whose frightening visage has been thankfully blurred by Google’s privacy software!

Achieving this level of terrification however, is still a simple matter of inflating some oversized cartoon characters. So you’ve got to take your hat off to whoever scrawled this looming Jack-o’-lantern right in the middle of Highway 51, Wisconsin!

What’s really frightening is that anyone thought that this was a good idea at some point in their drunken evening…

Thanks to Merlin and Virtual Globe Trotting.

Locations: Colorado, Massachusetts, Wisconsin / Categories: Buildings, Street Views

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With the service due to launch soon in Canada, Italy, Spain, Australia and Japan, we thought we’d mark the one year anniversary with a roundup of the best 10 Street View discoveries that we haven’t already posted to the site.

10) Google camera gets stuck in tree

Yes, this driver forgot he had a giant camera stuck to the top of his car, and drove it into a low-hanging tree.

9) The giant finger of doom

Arrgh! The giant finger of doom! Actually, if you pan round you can see that this is actually an image of a normal-sized man with the world’s biggest hand.

8) Working girls, working

Well, not actually in flagrante, but rather hanging around waiting to possibly um… service some customers?

7) Scuba diver on city street

Well he isn’t a Scuba diver unless he’s in the water. Walking along the road like this just makes him a bit of an idiot.

6) Segway convoy

Rubby ducky rubber ducky, come in, this is ageing geek! We got ourselves a convoy!

5) Usin publik transport: ur doin it rong

Is this the cab’s driver, or a passenger in need of some assistance? Perhaps this person has been subjected to a particularly lethal LOLcat attack?

4) Having to explain the enormously suspicious camera on the top of your car to a police officer

“Yes officer that’s right, taking photos to put on the internet!” *Click*.

3) Man with giant head stomps all over Street View car

A relative of the man with the world’s biggest hand, this man must surely have the largest head on the planet.

2) Post-it attack!

A couple of teenage girls take brilliantly surreal revenge upon somebody, and don’t blink as a car passes recording their actions forever…

1) How not to get IN a car

We’re stunned, we have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on here. Brilliantly bizarre and a worthy winner of the top spot!

Locations: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania / Categories: Crowds, Rudeness, Street Views

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They’ve also linked to this cool image of the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston for us – but what new activities can you find on the streets of these cities?

Just remember to send us your finds!

Thanks to Rob for letting us know.

Locations: Massachusetts / Categories: Site News, Street Views

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The Thanksgiving festival traditionally thanks God at the end of the year’s harvest, and is a tradition passed down from the Plymouth Colony who settled in New Plymouth in 1620.

When these Pilgrims first landed they apparently stepped on what is now known as “Plymouth Rock”, a large piece of granite which is currently housed in the rectangular building on the shore.

The rock wasn’t identified as being of any significance until over a hundred years later in 1741, when an elder of the church pointed it out as being “the stone”.

Since then it’s been broken in two, dragged all around Plymouth, and had numerous chunks removed. Its current resting place was built in 1920 and puts the rock back at sea level.

Happy thanksgiving to all our American readers!

Wikipedia: Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Colony & Thanksgiving

Thanks to Steve Ransom, AndrewAnorak & John

Locations: Massachusetts / Categories: Buildings

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