Tag Archives: Google Maps

Jai Hind! Exploring India’s Independence history with Google Maps and the Cultural Institute


India’s road to independence stretched over years, with historic moments occurring at landmarks across the nation. As the country prepares to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, we’ve put together a tour through some of the most iconic sites related to the Independence movement from Google Maps and the Cultural Institute.

Trace the footsteps of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, from his oath at Parliament and speech on the country’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’,  to the Red Fort, where he unfurled the Tricolor on 15 August 1947; and where each year, subsequent Prime Ministers have followed the tradition of unfurling the national flag and delivering an address to the nation.



Lahori Gate is the main gate to the Red Fort and named after its orientation towards the city of Lahore

Go right inside the complex and learn more about the Mughal Citadel — from the Chhatta Chowk markets and Naqqar Khana drum house, to the gracious arches of Diwan-e-Aam — with a virtual exhibit from the Cultural Institute.

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Diwan-e-Aam, Archaeological Survey of India and the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library

You could also visit the majestic Aga Khan Palace. Built in 1892, it served as a prison for Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi from 1942. Or the historical Sabarmati Ashram, his residence for over 12 years and from where he led the Dandi march — also known as the Salt Satyagraha —  of non-violent protest in March 1930.



Or take a tour of the dreaded Cellular Jail in Port Blair, where many freedom fighters were imprisoned, or Jallianwala Bagh, the site of a tragic massacre of peaceful civilian protesters in 1919.


Cellular Jail, Google Maps

As we prepare to mark the 69th anniversary of India’s Independence, there are a range of images, photos and virtual tours you can take with Google Maps and the Cultural Institute — including a special collection of images and artifacts from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

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Independence Day Celebrations 1947, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind!

Posted by Suren Ruhela, Director, Google Maps

Getting San Francisco Bay Area Businesses Online Ahead of Football’s Big Game

Earlier this year, we launched "Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map” to provide businesses across the U.S. with simple ways to be found when customers search for them online. We’ve been making that process faster, easier, and free, so that more customers find businesses in their area when they turn to the web for information.

With pro football’s Big Game happening this February at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara -- the first in the Bay Area since 1985 -- we want Google’s hometown businesses to have the tools they need to show up when visiting sports lovers inevitably start searching online for local restaurants, hotels, attractions and more. That’s why we’re announcing a special series of “Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map” workshops designed especially for the Bay Area businesses we know and love to learn strategies to getting online -- and in front of everyone coming to town for the Big Game.

The 2015 championship game brought more than 1,000,000 people to downtown Phoenix earlier this year, and 500,000 people enjoyed events in downtown Scottsdale, driving over $700 million in economic impact to the region.1 Drawing the eyes of the nation, and with "near me" searches doubling over the last year,2 the opportunities for showing up are real. But small businesses are still notably behind the curve when it comes to showing up online. Four in five consumers use search engines to find information about local businesses,3 but less than half of US small businesses actually have a website4 and only 37% have claimed or updated their business information on a search engine.5

As part of the workshop series, we’ll share tips on how to build an online presence, offer a free website with a customized domain name including free web hosting for a year, and help businesses create a free business listing on Google Search and Maps. Interested local Bay Area business owners can RSVP below:


  • August 10, 2015 -- YouTube Headquarters, San Bruno, CA -- register here
  • September 22, 2015 -- Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA -- register here
  • December 4, 2015 -- Google San Francisco Office, San Francisco, CA -- register here

From farmers markets to taquerias to a virtual reality arcade, we know it's never too late to show up online -- even in the heart of Silicon Valley! We’re encouraging businesses to use this opportunity to take steps right now to maximize online interest they may experience leading up to the Big Game. Join us as we help put the San Francisco Bay Area on the map!

Posted by Soo Young Kim, Head of Marketing, Get Your Business Online
1. Seidman Research Institute and W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University Study, June 2015.
2. I-Want-to-Go Moments: From Search to Store. Think with Google, April 2015.
3. Google/Ipsos MediaCT/Purchased, Understanding Consumers’ Local Search Behavior, May 2014.
4. Google/IPSOS, Survey of businesses with less than 250 employees, October 2013.
5. Marketing Sherpa, Search Marketing Benchmark Report SEO Edition, 2012.

Exploring Canada’s National Parks in the land of the Midnight Sun

Cross-posted to the Google Maps Blog.

The days are getting longer in Canada’s Arctic. The sea ice is breaking up, Arctic heather is poking through the snow-covered tundra and the arrival of the migratory snow bunting is days away. Summer is right around the corner. And today, in close collaboration with Parks Canada, we’re thrilled to share a glimpse of Canada’s Northern National Parks and the high north’s breathtaking summer season through the lens of Street View and Google Maps.

These are some of Canada’s most remote National Parks. In spite of challenges posed by this vast geography, the far north also presented a unique opportunity. For example, Ivvavik National Park looks as bright and sunny as midday. But Parks Canada operators were collecting this imagery close to midnight, taking advantage of the far north’s endless summer days.

Virtual visitors can marvel at the sweeping glaciers and dramatic fjords of Auyuittuq, discover the British Mountains and the Firth River Valley in Ivvavik, and immerse themselves in Tuktut Nogait’s stunning canyons and waterfalls along the rugged Brock River.

And, not to be missed, be sure to check out the spectacular towering peaks of the Torngat Mountains, the grandeur of Canada's only salt plains and take a Street View stroll in the historic Sweetgrass bison corrals of Wood Buffalo National Park – Canada’s largest national park.


Ivvavik National Park protects a portion of the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. Some of the imagery from Ivvavik was collected as late as 11pm.


From the Inuktitut word Torngait, meaning “place of spirits,” the Torngat Mountains have been home to Inuit and their predecessors for thousands of years.


Overlooking La Roncière Falls in Tuktut Nogait National Park and the Hornaday River’s  awe-inspiring canyons and waterfalls.  


Auyuittuq National Park images were gathered primarily from the water. The Street View Trekker was positioned on a boat which sailed along the park's coastline.

Since starting work together in 2013, Parks Canada and Google have collected imagery from over a hundred of Canada’s national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas. Our work in the north, however, is not finished and we look forward to connecting Canadians and the world to more of our country’s majestic northern national parks in the near future.

In the meantime, enjoy a trip north on Google Maps... the Arctic summer sun is not going down on these amazing Street View images anytime soon.

Posted by Aaron Brindle, Virtual Explorer and Canadian Trekker, Google Canada

Hello Places API for Android and iOS!

Posted by Jen Kovnats Harrington, Product Manager, Google Maps APIs

Originally posted to Google Geo Developers blog

People don’t think of their location in terms of coordinates on a map. They want context on what shops or restaurants they’re at, and what’s around them. To help your apps speak your users’ language, we’re launching the Places API for Android, as well as opening a beta program for the Places API for iOS.

The Places API web service and JavaScript library have been available for some time. By providing native support for Android and iOS devices, you can optimize the mobile experience with the new APIs by taking advantage of the device’s location signals.

The Places APIs for Android and iOS bridge the gap between simple geographic locations expressed as latitude and longitude, and how people associate location with a known place. For example, you wouldn’t tell someone you were born at 25.7918359,-80.2127959. You’d simply say, “I was born in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida.” The Places API brings the power of Google’s global places database into your app, providing more than 100 million places, like restaurants, local businesses, hotels, museums, and other attractions.

Key features include:

  • Add a place picker: a drop-in UI widget that allows your users to specify a place
  • Get the place where the user is right now
  • Show detailed place information, including the place’s name, address, phone number, and website
  • Use autocomplete to save your users time and frustration typing out place names, by automatically completing them as they type
  • Make your app stand out by adding new places that are relevant to your users and seeing the places appear in Google's Places database
  • Improve the map around you by reporting the presence of a device at a particular place.

To get started with the Places API for Android, watch this DevByte, check out the developer documentation, and play with the demos. To apply for the Places API for iOS beta program, go here.