On a whim, I decided to check out the MIT campus on Windows Live Maps, something which I haven’t ever used before. What amused me the most was the “bird’s eye view” pictures, taken with the camera not pointed straight down, so the buildings had an illusion of depth.
Now, I understand that imaging companies don’t update their archives daily – and this is to be expected, unless someone has corporate-level OCD. Some times, though, the images are from years ago. Google Maps seems to still think the Walmart near where I lived in Atlanta (built in 2002) is still a dirt lot.
When you add in multiple-angle views to the situation, some times things get a little weird.
Let me direct your attention to the Stata Center, one of the examples of innovative architecture (or unarchitecture, depending on who you ask) on campus.
This picture was probably taken in late 2003 to early 2004, when the building was in the last phases of construction. This was okay – Google Maps just shows a big construction-equipment-littered mess, even now.
However, as soon as I scooted north a bit, half of it disappeared.
Rotating the map to face west, it seems to be in a different phase of construction.
 And moving a bit eastward (farther away), it seems to be slightly different again.
The observant will also notice something missing in the previous 3 pictures that was present in the first: the large white-draped building across the street. That would be one of the newest buildings, the Brain & Cognitive Sciences center.
The direct overhead view is the most recent, as it shows both buildings completed. The brain-surgery-like covering over the B&CS is, of course, gone.
