WHAT WAS THERE?

We’ve all wondered it.  Maybe even more so here in Amnesia City.  Now, there’s a new way to combat amnesia – The What Was There Project.  www.whatwasthere.com

This new, online service allows users to upload old photos of buildings and places, and then overlap them with a current photo of the same site – taken from Google Street View.  Google can get fairly close to the exact spot where the first photo was taken.   

The jump between now and then is heightened by a Fade Slide Bar that allows viewers to transition between past and present.

They claim proudly their service can “provide a new human experience of time and space – a virtual time machine of sorts that allows users to navigate familiar streets as they appeared in the past.”

And if you’re not satisfied with Google’s Street View, then the iPhone application allows you to go to the exact location and find the optimal view through your camera to match the original photo; then, fade between former and current.

The list of Houston sites is small, so check back periodically.  Houstorian is currently uploading old photos from around town.