Google Maps recently introduced a new 3-D option that incorporates many features previously only available in its Earth application.

Now users can actually fly through cities and view buildings and topography as though they’re almost real. Here’s Lower Manhattan.

Below is the Texas Capitol. Use your mouse and the map controls to zoom out and move around the complex. (Here’s a tutorial). The detail is so precise that you can even see the swimming pool atop the Westgate Tower building.

You might first need a plug-in. Enjoy:


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Matt Stiles covered government and politics for the Tribune, with a focus on data journalism, from 2009 to 2011. He oversaw and developed the Tribune’s library of web applications and interactive graphics....