First we visit Denver, where a strange blue object visible from above is revealed by Street View to be a giant blue bear peering through the windows of the Colorado Convention Centre.

This 12m high steel and fibreglass sculpture titled I See What You Mean by artist Lawrence Argent was installed in 2005.  And in case you’re wondering, here’s what it looks like from the inside!

Another large bear adorns the exterior of a casino in Elko, NV to promote their star attraction.

The statue is a replica of White King – 3m tall and weighing 1000kg – claimed  to be the largest polar bear ever killed. The stuffed bear is on display in the casino’s coffeeshop.

And finally to Detroit, and bears of a different kind – teddy bears and stuffed toys of many kinds create the ‘unique’ decor of this house on Mt Elliott Street.

While you may wonder about the affect on local property values, it is actually part of a neighbourhood art project.

Thanks to lyrics_guru.

Locations: Colorado, Michigan, Nevada / Categories: Street Views, Structures, Weirdness

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Perhaps best known as the location of Elvis Presley’s early recordings, the studio was also used by many rock-n-roll greats including Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. The building reopened in 1987 as a functioning studio and museum, appearing soon after that in the U2 film Rattle and Hum.

Speaking of U2, their first three albums were recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. While the studio has moved, the location remains a site of pilgrimage for devoted fans who cover the walls with graffiti, visible on Live Maps:

One of the more unique studios in the world is the Astoria studio, found in a houseboat on the River Thames west of London.

Built in 1911, and originally designed to house an entire orchestra, the boat is currently owned by Dave Gilmour and parts of Pink Floyd’s two most recent albums were recorded there.

Most of Prince’s albums from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s were recorded at the now-defunct studio that shared a name with a song and record label: Paisley Park.

While we’ve already visited the Abbey Road zebra crossing on Google Sightseeing, we didn’t look at the actual studio:

Home to the vast majority of The Beatles’ recording sessions, these studios have since hosted a Who’s Who of modern rock, pop and classical music, from Radiohead to the Spice Girls. The wall outside Abbey Road Studios is also covered in graffiti from music fans, though it’s not visible on either Google or Live Maps.

From 1959 to 1971, Motown Records put more than 110 songs into the Top 10 – the majority of them were recorded at Hitsville USA, a pair of Detroit buildings that housed the label’s studios and administrative offices.

The label moved to Los Angeles in 1972, but the buildings have served as a popular museum since 1985.

And finally we fly to Berlin to see the Hansa Tonstudios.

Perhaps most famous for David Bowie’s Low and Heroes albums, many artists have taken residence there seeking inspiration from the culture and history of East and West Berlin.

Where was your favourite album recorded?

Thanks to Lianachan, Stephen Jackson, Martin S., 433 and Stephen LaMora.

Locations: England, Germany, Ireland, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee / Categories: Buildings, Movie Locations, Street Views, Watercraft

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After 28 years of service, mostly among Canada’s northern communities, the plane was retired in 1970 and lay idle for a while. Volunteer effort led to its restoration and it was mounted on a carefully designed pedestal in 1981. The plane is so well balanced that a wind of only 5 knots will cause it to turn. According to Wikipedia, the DC-3 is almost 20m long, 5m high and weighs over 8000kg.

I should mention that, from what I can tell, the plane has not been officially recognised, with the Guinness World Record currently being held by a weather vane atop the Tio Pepe facility in Jerez, Spain. However, as it’s somewhat smaller than a plane, and the Google images are not great, it’s hard to spot. Live Maps has a clearer view.

It’s difficult to find much information about the Tio Pepe weather vane – this site describes it as standing almost 40m tall (but judging from the pictures that height must includes the building it is atop) and weighing 2700kg.

In addition, there is a weather vane in Montague, MI staking a claim to be the largest, though again – at 14m tall and 8m long – it may be taller than a DC-3, but is not quite as big! The Google imagery of the town is very low resolution, but Live Maps has a pretty good bird’s eye view.

Locations: Michigan, Spain, Yukon / Categories: Aircraft, Structures

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Shoreham Nuclear Power Station

This is a plant that was never completed due to community opposition. In the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident residents were increasingly worried about proximity to nuclear power stations. Shoreham was never finished because residents argued that if anything did go wrong, the population of Long Island couldn’t be evacuated with only one direction to go (west) and only one major road to take (the Long Island Expressway).

Thanks Chris & Thomas Paul

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

I know you’ve already done a “Nuclear Power Megapost,” but I just ran across this, and think it’s cool that you can almost see directly down the cooling towers. BTW, it’s TVA’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant.

Thanks Jay K

Chinon Nuclear Power Plant

This is the nuclear power plant of Chinon, a french town best known for its Cabernet Franc wine, with four very pretty cooling towers churning out steam.

Thanks Julien

Weldon Springs

The Nuclear Waste Adventure Trail and Museum at Weldon Spring, Missouri is where the government opened the Weldon Spring site to the public in 2002. The huge waste tomb spans 45 acres and is seven stories tall.

Thanks Bill

Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant

This is Bohunice nuclear power plant in Slovakia. A proper old-skool soviet era reactor. In February 22, 1977, the reactor suffered a major accident during refueling. Because of its age and old design the plant is currently undergoing a decommissioning process.

Thanks FeroG

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant

This is the Iranian nuclear power plant under construction near the city of Bushehr. These two plants are one of the reasons that Iran and the west don’t get along. In 1995, Russia signed a contract to supply a light water reactor for the plant. Although the agreement calls for the spent fuel rods to be sent back to Russia for reprocessing, the US has expressed concern that Iran would reprocess the rods itself, in order to obtain plutonium for atomic bombs.

Thanks Paul, Bunsen, Pejvak DehDari & Bubba

Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant

This reactor is named after the first physicist to create a nuclear reactor and is located between Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. On October 5, 1966 a 94MWe prototype fast breeder reactor called Fermi-1 suffered a partial nuclear meltdown here. Thankfully no radiation was released off-site, and no one was injured.

Thanks David & Joe

I’m sure there are still plenty more interesting nuclear power sites so keep them coming!

Locations: France, Iran, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Slovakia, Tennessee / Categories: Shadows, Structures

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Bill Gates’ 40,000-square-foot mansion in Washington is a constantly requested sight, but is in fact quite boring to look at from above (apparently it’s mostly underground). Loads more info and pictures here.

George Foreman’s Texas home is still being constructed in the satellite photo, but he’s so proud of the finished building that he’s put his name on it. The large building on the East side is the 64 car garage.

Muhammad Ali’s Michigan home is currently for sale but for your $3,200,000 you only get a measly 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. However, the 81 acre plot does feature a gymnasium, steam room, tennis & basketball courts and full size boxing ring. More pictures on the Real Estate listing.

The Californian coastline mansion with a tear shaped swimming pool is home to Barbara Streisand who famously tried to sue an aerial photography website which featured her house in the middle of 12,000 photos of coastline (she lost the case). Loads more information and the offending photo here.

Thanks: MisterKen, randy phillips, Dennis, Pete, IvyMike, Matt, Ivan, Lois, Mile, Andrew, Heath, greg, Chris Blackwell, Andrey, mark, MC, Thomas van Longerich, Nelson, Slugs On Toast & Wifey!

Locations: California, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Washington / Categories: Buildings

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Thanks: Nelson

Locations: Michigan / Categories: Watercraft

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Ironcladlou for the wallet-burning Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York, New York.

Punk floyd, Greg Small, Duane Homick, PegO and TZ for the fantastic Ambassador Bridge which links Windsor, Ontario with Detroit, Michigan. (Windsor is on the south and Detroit is on the north side of the river.)

Steve Hale for the the world’s (second) tallest suspension bridge, the Fred Hartman bridge in Baytown, Texas.

But the winners are… (Drum-roll please!)

Tim, Dave Isaacs and khendron for the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland!

Congratulations guys!

Locations: Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ontario, Texas / Categories: Bridges, Shadows

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Thanks: Rick

Locations: Michigan / Categories: Large Type

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Locations: Michigan / Categories: Structures

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Seriously, check it out… it’s pretty big. There’s actually a traffic jam on there too.

Thanks to Ryan, Soyle Mycelf, Otterpop and Parker. More info about the bridge is available at mackinacbridge.org.

Locations: Michigan / Categories: Bridges

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