I'm Obsessed With Street View!

Tom Green's Old House

2010-11-03T10:13:00.001-07:00

This is the house Tom Green grew up in, it's in Ottawa Canada. I love this guy, I've been following him for years and years, ever since he was doing that cable show that landed him the MTV gig. He painted this house plaid to prank his parents; it was featured in one of the TV episodes.

View Larger Map

Dunder Mifflin - The Office!

2010-09-07T19:09:00.001-07:00

This is Scranton Business Park, the building where Dunder Mifflin is located on The Office. It's not actually in Scranton, PA, it's a random street outside of Los Angeles in Van Nuys. It took a bit of sleuthing to find this, I'm pretty proud of myself. It's too bad the normal signs weren't there when the Street View car rolled by, but others have posted some good pictures of it during filming.

View Larger Map

The Menendez Murders

2010-04-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

This is the house where, in 1989, two brothers went into their own house late at night and murdered both of their parents. The father was was shot point blank in the back of the head with a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun. The mother, awakened by the shots, sprang from the couch and made a run for the hallway but was shot in the leg, causing it to break. She then slipped in her own blood and, when she fell, she was then shot several times in the arm, chest, and face, leaving her unrecognizable. Feel free to go here for more information on this, there are some gruesome photos online if you google the Menendez brothers. Their parents were rich and they tried to blame the murders on a mob hit, but then a few months after the murders, the police started to suspect them because they were spending all of their parents' money. They are now both in jail in separate prisons.

View Larger Map

The Boxing Gym and the Fish Store from Rocky

2010-03-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is in a pretty rough area of Philadelphia, the exterior of the gym looks like the same although it's not actually a gym. The pet store where Adrian worked is directly across the street, although there is nothing there now but an empty building. Evidently it was a real pet store at one point but given the way this neighborhood looks, it's no surprise that it's gone.

View Larger Map

Kidnapper/rapist follows the Google car

2010-01-26T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is enormously creepy. As you drive around, you'll see that several images here show Phillip Garrido following the Google Street View car in his creepy ass van as it circled his house. In 1991, this guy abducted an 11 year old girl and raped her for 18 years in a tent behind his house. He fathered two of her children and kept her locked up here. Thankfully, he was finally arrested last year, but obviously not before these pictures were taken. If you start driving to the left of the house (South) and then turn around and look back behind you, you'll see that the creepy old van is following behind. Pretty chilling. Presumably, the guy is following the car to make sure it doesn't take any revealing pictures of his house. You can't really see it, but there is a tent behind the house where the girl probably was when the car drove by. If you're interested in reading more about this twisted dude and his wife, here is their Wikipedia entry.

View Larger Map

The house from Paranormal Activity

2009-10-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

This house in San Diego is where the movie Paranormal Activity was filmed. It's actually the director's own house, he filmed the movie there in 2006 and it only cost him about $15,000. This movie was damn creepy, I'd love to go check this house out on the inside sometime. Apparently there's nothing ghostly about it but I'm sure I'd get chills if I had to spend the night there. They should rent this place out like a hotel room, plenty of people including myself would be willing to pay good money to stay there for a night. Fantastic movie, really scared the crap out of me.

View Larger Map

DJ AM died here

2009-09-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

This is DJ AM's apartment at 210 Lafayette Street in New York. 4 days ago, he brought a bag of crack home and consumed about half of the bag along with Xanax and probably a myriad of other prescription drugs. We'll find out in a couple weeks exactly what did him in, but it was obviously a dangerous concoction. His girlfriend had just broken up with him and I'm guessing it was because he had recently relapsed after 9 years of sobriety. If you ask me, I think the plane crash he miraculously survived is ironically what caused his demise. He suffered burns all over his body from the crash and was prescribed painkillers, and his addictive tendencies kicked in and took complete control of him. It was so disheartening reading all his tweets near the end of his life, he had been tweeting numerous times a day and then on his last day they just stopped. No one found him in his apartment for 3 days.

View Larger Map

Ground Zero for the L.A. riots

2009-09-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

After the Rodney King verdict was announced on April 29th, 1992, thousands of angry African-Americans starting rioting in the streets of south central LA, looting stores, destroying millions of dollars of property, and randomly assaulting people that came through the area. 53 people died during the riots and nearly 2,000 were reported injured. This intersection at Florence and Normandie is ground zero where all the insanity began. Most of the video footage you've seen took place right here. At approximately 6:45 p.m., Reginald Denny, a white truck driver who stopped at a traffic light at this intersection, was dragged from his vehicle and severely beaten by a mob of people as news helicopters hovered above, recording every blow, including a concrete fragment connecting with Denny's temple and a cinder block thrown at his head as he lay unconscious in the street.

View Larger MapM

Tupac Shakur murder scene, Las Vegas

2009-08-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

On September 7th, 1996 at 11:17 PM, Tupac was shot in this exact spot where the red car is. A white Cadillac pulled up beside him to the right at a stoplight and the gunman reached out the car window and shot him 5 times. His right lung was destroyed and he had to have emergency surgery to remove it. He died of massive blood loss 6 days later. The cadillac turned right at the light and sped away never to be discovered again. Suge Knight, who was driving Tupac's car, sped around and did a u-turn and ended up blowing a tire near Las Vegas Blvd and Harmon Ave, where the police and ambulance showed up. Below is an autopsy photo that someone at the morgue gave to a reporter named Cathy Scott who eventually wrote a great book about the whole thing.

View Larger Map

Jasmine Fiore's body found here

2009-08-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

I wish Ryan Jenkins wouldn't have committed suicide because this was shaping up to be a much more fascinating story than Scott or Drew Peterson. Here's a clearly successful, good-looking guy who fell in love with a gorgeous model and then they obviously had a nasty breakup. The guy flies off the deep end, murders the girl, cuts up the body and stuffs it in a suitcase in some completely random garbage dump and then drives a thousand miles to Washington, crosses the border into Canada, checks into a dingy motel for 3 days and then hangs himself.

In this alley of a Buena Park apartment complex is the trash bin where he left her mutilated, naked body. He yanked out all her teeth and cut off her fingers. I don't know if he was on drugs or what but from the video footage I've seen of this guy, I find it fascinating that someone so seemingly intelligent would have the nerve to do something like this.

View Larger Map

Al Capone's grave

2009-08-16T20:10:00.001-07:00

Al Capone is actually buried right across the street from many of my family members. The cemetery has a very high percentage of Italian people buried there so naturally a lot of them are going to be Chicago mobsters like Sam Giancana and Tony Spilotro. Anyway, for those that are interested, here is a street view image, the grave is just beyond the gate entrance.

View Larger Map

Car wash in compton

2009-08-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's been well-documented that the lone suspect in the murder of Tupac Shakur was Orlando Anderson, a known Crip gang member from LA. 2 years after Tupac was gunned down, this guy got what was coming to him. He was washing his car at this place in Compton and someone drove in and killed him along with three other of his hoodlum buddies. It's not clear whether it was retaliation for Tupac's murder but I'd sure like to think so.

View Larger Map

Michael Jackson's house

2009-06-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is where Michael Jackson died. The address is 100 N Carolwood Dr, Los Angeles. The aerial view shows the actual house, the only thing you can see in street view is the street leading up to the house. Apparently Sean Connery lives right next door.

View Larger Map

Black Dahlia found here

2009-04-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

After doing a bit of research (reading police interviews I found online), I found out that this is the exact spot where the Black Dahlia body was discovered back on January 15h, 1947. There is some sort of plaque or something on the ground there, I'm not sure if it's a memorial but that would be neat if it was. This whole area was vacant 60 years ago when the body was discovered, I wonder if the whole event has any effect on property values. Obviously they had no qualms about building this house right on the spot after the fact. Here are some pretty gruesome photos from the crime scene, which I urge you not to view if you have a weak stomach.

View Larger Map

Princess Diana was killed here

2009-04-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is where Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. The Mercedes she was in crashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont d'Alma tunnel. Unfortunately, if you drive far enough into the tunnel to see the actual pillar, it's too dark to see it but the pillar is marked with a red band.

View Larger Map

Leonardo DiCaprio's house

2009-03-30T12:26:00.001-07:00

Part of the reason why I created this blog was to have an outlet for my interest in celebrities. I really couldn't tell you what's so appealing about them, I do know that it's different than most other people who have the same type of interests. For one, I really don't care what parties celebrities go to, or who they're dating. I don't care what their kids' names are or what tattoos they have. I just care about how big their house is, what cars they drive, how big their pool is, and whether or not they're a crazy person. If they do drugs, that pushes them up a few notches. I have fantasies about escaping my mundane go-to-work-and-come-home life. I think about how small my "world" actually is and it upsets the hell out of me. I know none of these celebrities who live like this because I live in a bubble. I'm a young middle-class male living in a highly populated metropolitan area of a major US city. Financially speaking, even despite the fact that I don't have millions of dollars, I am much better off than 99% of the rest of the world. I don't sell shoes in some flea market in India, but right now there is some guy over there living his life and doing that. Even in the United States, there's some immigrant working in a factory in Texas doing the most monotonous shit, and here I am depressed because I didn't make $1 million last year. The world is so insanely diverse, sometimes I do wish I could live out the life of various people for a couple months at a time. I could wake up tomorrow and I'd be a fisherman in Thailand. Then the next week, I'd work at a ski lodge in Switzerland. Then I'd work at a scooter rental place in Bermuda. I'd be a park ranger in Belize. I don't know anyone that knows anyone that does any of these things. I just know people that go to the office and come home. If I could literally choose one person in the world that I could be, it would probably be Leonardo DiCaprio. My buddy and I actually drove up to see his house in the West Hollywood hills one time. It's way up there in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty damn nondescript, it's covered in trees so you can't see much of the house. The front of the house is actually just next to a dirty alley. The aerial view though gives you a much better idea of what it looks like inside the gates. Crazy.

View Larger Map

Back To The Future

2009-03-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have probably seen each of the three Back To The Future movies at least 10 times since they first came out when I was like 12. My dad made me a fake hoverboard and I was even more obsessed with these movies than I am with street view. This is actually Marty McFly's house, it's just outside Pasadena where lots of other scenes were filmed. If you don't recognize it from the movie, do yourself a favor and get some taste in movies because you haven't seen it enough times yet. If you haven't seen it at all just kill yourself.

View Larger Map

Robert Downey Jr. all drugged up

2009-03-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

I always thought this was a funny story: on July 16th, 1997, Robert Downey went on a huge bender and ended up passing out in this random person's house in Malibu. The woman that lives there found him sleeping in her bed and he was arrested for trespassing and being under the influence of drugs. I wish he'd talk about it more, I'm fascinated by crazy people. I'm glad he's turned his life around though, he's a great actor.

View Larger Map

Barack Obama's house taken off the grid

2009-03-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

I actually used to live right down the street from Barack Obama so I've looked at the residential area before on street view. I know for a fact that his house used to be on there, but guess what? It's gone now. I'm just speculating but it seems pretty obvious that they've removed street view for that entire area just for security purposes. If you click on the 'View Larger Map' link below this map of Barack's neighborhood and then drag the little yellow guy onto the map, you can see which areas are covered (they're highlighted in blue) and which are not. Sure enough, his house is right in the center of the whole zone that's not covered.

View Larger Map

Michael Jordan's house in Highland Park

2009-03-25T20:21:00.001-07:00

This is pretty impressive. I think that's a helicopter landing pad or something in the aerial view. MJ is part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats now, so I don't know how much time he actually spends here these days.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

Public Enemies

2009-03-25T19:39:00.001-07:00

John Dillinger the bank robber was actually shot right in front of this theatre by the police in 1934. The marquee is still there and they actually filmed a scene here for the Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies. I'm looking forward to checking out the movie (see trailer), my cousin Jonathan was actually an extra in it.

View Larger Map

.

JFK assassination

2009-03-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

JFK was shot in this exact spot in 1963. If you don't recognize this, go find a brain and then get back to 6th grade history class. There's actually an X marked in the street right where the shooting occurred. I've never been to Dallas but I'd love to check out the museum in the book depository.

View Larger Map

Shroud of Turin

2009-03-25T19:21:00.001-07:00

I really don't have too much faith in the validity of this whole story on the shroud of Turin (actually Torino is the real name of the Italian city) but this summer I'm probably going to visit this church where the shroud is located.

View Larger Map

I met Paris Hilton.

2009-03-25T19:00:00.001-07:00

My friend and I randomly met Paris Hilton outside of her house one night. She was outside looking for her cat, and we had just seen the cat up the street a few minutes before realizing it was actually hers. Paris doesn't live here anymore, she sold the place. Also, I'm sure the cat is dead because she neglected the hell out of it.

View Larger Map

O.J. Simpson murder scene

2009-03-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is the infamous spot where OJ Simpson stabbed his wife and Ron Goldman in 1994. OK, "allegedly" stabbed. The house looks a lot different than it did 15 years ago. The gate is different and there's a lot more shrubbery goin' on up in there. I'm sure the people that live there now don't want a bunch of jackass tourists walking up on their lawn all day. The tree is a good reference point there just for comparison purposes. I'll be adding to this post later, there is a lot to discuss.

View Larger Map

Vegas is imagery is so disappointing

2009-03-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

I know they were trying to do something unique with getting night footage of Vegas but it came out horrible. This is by far the biggest disappointment of street view in my opinion. I wonder what person drove through here and captured all this footage, it must have all been from one person's shitty camera. I mean, compare these these two images, one of the Las Vegas Strip and the other of a casino in Monte Carlo, which one is better?

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

How awesome is Nice, France?

2009-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

View Larger Map

Chicago

2009-03-24T17:56:00.001-07:00

I also used to live in these places.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

My school

2009-03-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

This is El Colegio Mayor San Agustin, my study abroad program was based here.

View Larger Map

My apartment and school in Madrid

2009-03-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

I lived here in 2000 for about 6 months or so. It's a lot nicer now than it was, I bet it's twice as expensive to live in this building too. I think I paid like $500 a month.

View Larger Map