PHOTOS: Google Maps Hack Shows Philly In a Cherry Blossom Alternate Universe
Image by Google Street View via Sakura Dream Lux
Oh, this hurts.
Some of you may know we’re in the midst of cherry blossom season, but for those of you who don’t, it’s basically when Japanese cherry trees are in full bloom, an event lasting anywhere from for 4-6 days. And though we’re no Branch Brook Park (the NJ park with the largest collection in the country), Philadelphia does have a substantial amount of cherry blossom trees whose April flowering is celebrated at an annual cherry blossom festival.
All that being said, we’re totally in love–and totally in pain because of our intense yearning for this to be real!–with this Google Maps hack by a Japanese beauty brand that transforms average cityscape scenes into a cherry blossom wonderland. All you have to do is go to this link (it wouldn’t show up on Chrome for us, but did so on Safari), type in the address or intersection you want to sakura-up, and press enter. Do it when you’re not too busy though, as the site does have a few glitches. From CityLab:
Be warned. Much like the notoriously hard-to-grow trees, the current version of the site has a few finicky limitations. It only works in areas where Google has done a street view sweep. (Sorry, Africa.) The graphics-heavy visualization is a bit slow and there’s no language translation for the Japanese language prompts.
For the record, the lack of English has ceased to be a problem as Quartz has generously provided a translation that allows you to see where you’re supposed to type in the address.
Below you’ll find some screenshots we took of various places around Philly if cherry blossom trees were lining the streets. Best alternate universe ever? Mayhaps. (Also, if this doesn’t have you filling out a Tree Planting Request Form from the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation office, we honestly don’t know what will).
Northern Liberties, near 700 N 2nd Street.
Frankford Transporation Center
North Broad, facing City Hall
Temple University, near Paley Library building and Bell Tower
Girard Avenue and Front Street, facing west on Girard
Corner of 19th and Market, facing west
Schuylkill Avenue West facing east toward Center City
John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge facing Center City
East Passyunk Ave and 13th in South Philadelphia
Kensington, near the blighted Orinoka Mills Factory.
Feel free to send us your on screenshots of a cherry blossomed Philadelphia–we’re hoping to include some spots we missed in a post this week!
H/T: Make Cherry Blossom Trees Magically Appear in Your Neighborhood [CityLab]
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