How to View Historical Imagery on Google Earth

Go back in time with Google Earth's desktop app

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: September 25, 2024 Fact Checked

Do you want to see what your hometown looked like decades ago? How about Paris or Dubai? It can be neat to compare what a place looked like before with what it is now. If you install the Google Earth Pro app on your computer, you can travel back in time and see old historical imagery from previous years. This feature isn't available in the web-based version of Google Earth, so make sure you download the app from https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions.

Quick Steps

Open Google Earth Pro on your PC or Mac.
Navigate to the location you want to examine.
Click the View menu.
Check the box next to "Historical Imagery."
Drag the bar to the year you want to view.

Steps

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Open the Google Earth Pro app on your computer. The only way to use Google Earth's historical imagery layer is to install the Google Earth Pro app on your PC or Mac. If you haven't installed it yet, you can get it from https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions.^{[1]
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- Despite the "Pro" in the name, Google Earth Pro is 100% free.
Type the location into the search box at the upper-left corner and click Search. Just like in Google Maps, Google Earth will bring you to the location you’ve entered.^{[2]
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Zoom in if needed. At first, the area view may be too far up to be able to focus on the location. You can now use the vertical navigation bar on the right side of the map to zoom in for a closer look. Click the plus button at the top of the bar to zoom in. The map will immediately adjust as you zoom in. Continue to zoom in until you’re at the level of detail you want to see.
- Wait a few moments for the rendering to be completed for the location. Once it’s done, you will be able to see the location clearly and vividly, as if you’re right in front of it. You can again use the navigation buttons to move around the view of the location.
Click the View menu on the header menu bar, then select Historical Imagery. A time-lapse bar will appear in the upper left corner. The bar has a horizontal scroll bar that you can adjust from the past to the present.
Drag the scroll bar at the upper-left to the left to go back in time and view past images of the current location. Each time you adjust the scroll bar, the imagery for the location you’re viewing changes to show you how the location looked at the time you’re setting. A building you’re seeing now may not exist five or ten years ago. You will be amazed at what you can see by looking at the different images from the past.^{[3]
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Community Q&A

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Question

How can I see historical street view images?

Jackson Quesinberry

Community Answer

Yes, Google has images captured by the USDA and other government entities as far back as the early 20th century. You can find these by clicking the tiny icon that looks like a clock with a green arrow pointing counterclockwise. A slider will appear and you can slide it back and forth between present day and December 1930.

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