The online maps service has Street View, which can allow you to see places around the world from pedestrian level. There’s also a clever little feature where you can look at the same viewpoint on a timeline stretching back several years. We’ve used images captured from it here to show how some changes have taken place in just a short time.
Heart of the City 2 is a good example, so we’ve looked at that from two points of view to show what a dramatic change the new Grosvenor House complex has made to that whole area. We’ve also captured the Castle Markets demolition in action and demonstrated how the New Era development has made a huge difference to the top of Bramall Lane/St Mary’s Gate.
1. Hotel view
A Google Maps image from 2012 of a former underpass on Wellington Street with the Grosvenor House Hotel in the background (the cross on the ground is a Google feature) Photo: Julia Armstrong/Google
2. Rebuilding time
By 2017 the whole area has been cleared and building work has started Photo: Julia Armstrong/Google
3. What a difference
By late 2020, the transformation was just about complete, with the new Grosvenor House offices and shops complex and attractive landscaping in place Photo: Julia Armstrong/Google
4. Worrying times
This Google Maps image shows the view from the top of The Moor in 2008, when worldwide economic troubles were at the forefront of our minds - Heart of the City 2 was one project which was affected Photo: Julia Armstrong/Google