What Was There

A Web 2.0 Tool for viewing the present with the past.

The WhatWasThere project uses technology - digital photographs and google maps - to create a sort of time machine on the web. The Web 2.0 tool allows teachers and students to compare a historical photograph with the present day location. The Web 2.0 tool can be used to start a classroom discussion about how the present differs from the past. Social Studies classes can search the vast library of photos for primary sources. Language Arts classes can visit places in the stories they are reading and find photos for the time period. Science classes can look for environmental change or the impact of science on a location. The website does not require registration to explore photos, which makes it a good resource for students to use when doing research. An account is required for uploading photos. Maybe you or a student has some photos to share. Detailed instructions for using the site are given below, along with a video on how to use the site. Have fun looking at the past and comparing it to the present.

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Exploring WhatWasThere

The home page takes you to a map of the United States where bubble markers indicate places that have pictures uploaded. There can be many pictures of an area uploaded from different years. There are photos from other parts of the world. In the upper left hand corner is a search bar, where you can search for pictures by place.

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Search Results

In this example a search of Washington, DC, US, takes you to a map of Washington DC and a column that shows 395 pictures uploaded to WhatWasThere that are nearby. The photos are labeled with the place the picture was taken and the date. Some of the photos are not street views, but historical photos of events that have taken place. Select a photo to see what it looks like today compared to the day the photo was taken. In some instances drawings of historical places are used.

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Viewing Past Photo with Present

Once you select a photo, the photo will appear on the screen. To see the building as it looks like today, click on Google Street View and use the fade button to slide to present day view. Check out the links below the video for a full screen view of this example and others.