Growth in Northern VA 1984-2011: NASA satellite images (Reston, Fairfax: insurance, credit)

[OrangeFish]

I just saw this and thought it was really interesting. Note the differences in growth patterns between northern Virginia and Maryland. The "green" out by Dulles is just gone!

Earth Observatory Image of the Day: Growth in Washington, District of Columbia

[GustavoFring]

Download the actual Google Earth program it has historic imagery going back to 88 for nova and 49 for the DC area (aerial photos). You can just move the slider over an area and watch as it progresses. It's interesting to see the Reston Town Center, Ashburn, The Carlyle area of Old Town and others literally rise from no where. Check out the springfield interchange's progression as well.

Edit: the nicer thing about the google earth historic imagery sliders is that they're a lot higher resolution as well.

[CAVA1990]

Not much has changed in my neck of the woods since '84.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Not much has changed in my neck of the woods since '84.

Not in my area, either. But the majority of the frequent posters here are from "out west" in further out Fairfax County, Loudoun County, etc. Those areas have dramatically changed.

[Joke Insurance]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Download the actual Google Earth program it has historic imagery going back to 88 for nova and 49 for the DC area (aerial photos). You can just move the slider over an area and watch as it progresses. It's interesting to see the Reston Town Center, Ashburn, The Carlyle area of Old Town and others literally rise from no where. Check out the springfield interchange's progression as well.

Edit: the nicer thing about the google earth historic imagery sliders is that they're a lot higher resolution as well.

Or you can do it the faster way by doing to this awesome website:

Historical Aerials - NETR Online • Historic Aerials

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

Or you can do it the faster way by doing to this awesome website:

Historical Aerials - NETR Online • Historic Aerials

This is awesome, thank you.

Really cool to see the major roads being built. The beltway was being constructed in 62 in these images, Tysons Corner didn't even exist, they were just carving out interchanges for 123 & 7. Civilization ended at Pimmit Hills. The interesting thing is to look at Old Town alexandria, which appeared to be nothing more than an industrial wasteland/superfund site in almost ALL of the current desirable areas. I don't think I've ever seen a train yard so huge. Interesting to see that it didn't begin its transformation until the 80s.

Credit those that had the funding and vision to really transform the burbs of VA from the sticks and industrial sites to highly desirable, fairly decently planned urban communities.

Also.. just building 66 in 79! How did anyone get around? I guess they had no need to go to those far flung places. Check out the temporary Department of War in 1949 where the national mall currently is. They erected those buildings I think in WW1 and tore them down shortly after the Pentagon was finished.

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Also.. just building 66 in 79! How did anyone get around? I guess they had no need to go to those far flung places.

How did people get to Maryland before the Beltway and the American Legion Bridge? I suppose they had to drive from VA to 123, then all the way up that to the old Chain Bridge and cross into DC and up into MD from there. Seems crazy.

[car54]

Originally Posted by snowdenscold

How did people get to Maryland before the Beltway and the American Legion Bridge? I suppose they had to drive from VA to 123, then all the way up that to the old Chain Bridge and cross into DC and up into MD from there. Seems crazy.

Most people took the Henry Shirley Highway (I-395) across Long Bridge (14th St) through DC into MD (via many routes depending where in MD one was going).

May have been crazy, but it took less time then than it does now.

[snowdenscold]

Sorry, to clarify - I was thinking about Montgomery County.
In that case, I can't imagine they'd go way out of their way to the bottom of 14th street instead of the Chain Bridge, right?

Was there ever another ferry closer in than White's?

[GustavoFring]

I don't think people really had reason to cross over as frequently. Everyone who happened to live in NoVa at the time worked at the Pentagon or in DC itself. The days of MD and VA people crossing the river to get to other edge cities for work simply didn't exist. There were no edge cities, the only jobs that existed were direct federal employment or blue collar support industries (contracting didn't exist until the 1970s when Nixon created it to "shrink" the federal government, ha!).