History in Satellite Photos

Over the past decade or so, Google maps has brought aerial imagery of pretty much any place on the planet to our computer screens.  If I were in high school today, I would be pale and have no friends because I’d be spending all of my free time touring the world on Google maps. 

Recently, we have started to gain access to historical satellite imagery, which helps tell the story of how places have developed over the years.  Three of my favorite such resources are…

Google Earth (which must be downloaded)

HistoricAerials.com

GIS section of the Fairfax City web-site

The list below summarizes the years for which imagery are available for Fairfax City (note that this focuses on downtown and may vary for specific areas of the city).

2011 (City)

2010 (Google)

2009 (City)

2008 (Google & City)

2007 (Google & City)

2005 (Google & Historic Aerials)

2003 (Historic Aerials)

2002 (Google, City & Historic Aerials)

1997 (City)

1989 (Google)

1988 (Google)

1979 (Historic Aerials)

1964 (Historic Aerials)

1963 (Historic Aerials)

1962 (Historic Aerials)

1949 (Historic Aerials)

1937 (City)

Here are some random observations I picked up on in looking at these images:

1. Orchard Drive was actually built through an orchard.  In the 1949 image form Historic Aerials.com, you can see the rows of trees extending to what are now the back lot lines for the houses along the road.  In 1962, you can see that some of the trees were preserved and integrated into front yards.
2. In the 1937 image from the city web-site, you can see the electric trolley line for which Railroad Avenue was named.   It enters what are now the city limits near the 66/123 interchange, and crosses 123 and Fairfax Boulevard.  It then runs up what is now the street next to Vespucci’s, though the residential neighborhoods, then along Railroad Avenue, terminating near the cemetery.  It appears to turn up the south side of Main Street with the depot where the funeral home currently stands in front of the cemetery.
3. In 1962, you can see I-66 and the Beltway under construction, including the interchanges at 123 and 50.  By 1964, both roads are complete.

The unfortunate gap in this timeline is the 1950s, when a most of the single family residential neighborhoods in the city were built.  It would have been interesting to see neighborhoods like Country Club Hills or Fairchester Woods partially built.  But, these web-sites are always updating and this imagery may become available at some point.

Please take a look and let us know how your neighborhood has changed over the years.  I reccomend starting with historicaerials.com; it is the quickest and easiest to use among the three.