Users
of Google’s navigation service can now explore locations as they have
appeared at different points in time, observing changes in the
landscapes through the years.
Certain images in Google Maps Street View now have a clock icon,
which indicates the possibility to view a location’s appearance in
previous years or different seasons. After clicking on the clock, users
can move their cursor along a timeline to travel back through the years.
The journey is somewhat limited, however, since Street View was only
launched in 2007 in North America, before spreading through the rest of
the world from 2008.
Nonetheless, the service allows users to watch the progress of some
interesting construction projects, including that of the One World Trade
Center tower in New York or of the 2014 World Cup stadium in Fortaleza,
Brazil.