Fun with GIS

I heard on NPR this morning that Amazon has a new maps page. The embedded map is Mapquest, but the cool feature is that it will show you photos as if you were walking along the streets. There's a limited number of cities, and limited areas within the cities, but it sounded pretty cool, so I clicked on Denver this morning. It took me to a map of downtown Denver and said that no pictures were available. So I hit the box to show where all the streets with pictures are, moved the cursor around, and still couldn't see anything.

"Well, maybe they're having problems with Denver... I'll try Philadelphia, since I'll be there for work next week." Same problem -- everything works but the reason for visiting the site. I click New York and finally get some pictures, but when I try to scroll around, no pictures come up. Nothing for San Francisco or Los Angeles, either. Go Amazon.

Later this afternoon I noticed it was still up in my web browser, so I clicked around again. I selected Miami and finally got to play with the tool. As you click on the GO arrows, you can take a few steps up or down the street. That's pretty neat. Helps you get a feel for where to go once you've parked down town and need to find an unassuming shop. I then searched for Colfax and Broadway, Denver, CO. Apparently they weren't interested in taking pictures of the State Capitol Building, but RTD busses fascinate them.

(The ad on the side of the bus is the same across several segments, so I assume they were walking at bus-speed while taking pictures. I've often found that busses travel at about foot speed...)

At Least I'm Not in Philadelphia -- W.C. Fields' Gravestone

I learned last week that I'll be in Philadelphia for work next Sunday through Thursday afternoon.

Poking around on some maps, there are several positive qualities to this. First, I like a city where you don't have to drive. Our client is at City Hall, my hotel is a few blocks away. Second, I like a city where a mall isn't just about shopping. A few blocks in the other direction from the hotel is Independence Mall. (Of course, the museums are only open during business hours...) Third, I like a city with funk. The area around Independence Mall dates back to the 17th Century -- there's bound to be some funk built up in that time. Plus, apparently Chinatown is between the hotel and the mall... { ♩ I want to take you to Chinatown! ♩ }

So what I'd like to know (from those of you that know) -- what should I make sure to see in the City of Brotherly Love given (a) I'll be at work during the day and (b) I'm allergic to Philly Cheese Steak...