

Recreating the oldest aerial photo - davidad_
http://blog.davidad.net/post/47278329434/recreating-the-oldest-aerial-photo

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slyall
I've seen this done several times previously with the original photograph
above. From example page 16 of "How buildings Learn" by Stewart Brand from
1994 (a really great book) has this exact comparison with a photograph from
1981 (the tall building the the exact centre is missing). There is another
example from last year here: <http://stevedunwell.com/aboveandbeyond/?p=27>
and another here <http://www.boston.com/ae/specials/aerialboston/>

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tokenadult
_How buildings Learn" by Stewart Brand from 1994 (a really great book)_

Yes. Stewart Brand should need no introduction to readers of HN for his many
influences on high-tech industry, but I'm always telling friends about _How
Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built,_

[http://www.amazon.com/How-Buildings-Learn-Happens-
Theyre/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/How-Buildings-Learn-Happens-
Theyre/dp/0140139966)

especially friends who study architecture.

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jstanley
It's amazing to see the buildings that are still there. Moving the mouse
quickly left and right on the comparison picture shows up quite a few
buildings that appear unchanged.

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ghaff
In some areas of Boston, you'd actually see a large number of buildings still
there from 1860--although that would be just a little early for the Back Bay
to be fully completed. The aa in this photo is, to a large degree, the West
End which was mostly torn down to construct the concrete monstrosity which is
Government Center among other changes.

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murtali
It's fascinating to see how some of the main constructs that help define a
city ie. major roads, intersections, are still highly visible and intact over
100 years later.

Would recommend "The City in History" by Lewis Mumford. Great read about how
cities have formed, died, and some renewed throughout history.

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rayiner
Fascinating, but probably shouldn't be surprising. By 1860, Boston was already
1/3 of it present size--too developed for wholesale re-layouts to happen
without something major (like the Great Chicago fire did in Chicago).

Look at this map of lower Manhattan from the 1600's to today:
<http://www.racontrs.com/stories/nyc-land-reclamation>. Look how, aside from
land reclamation, the basic street architecture has changed little since the
mid 1700's.

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graiz
Very cool. My company has offices on the left hand edge by the Old South
Meeting house spire near Milk St. Amazing how much stuff has changes and
stayed the same. The spire's was where the revolution started in 1773. It's
now dwarfed on all sides.

