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Meet Me at the Corner
A former newspaper reporter who has lived in Franklin for nearly 40 years, Marjorie is active in several Franklin and Hales Corners organizations.
It's Always Summer on a Virtual Tour in Hales Corners and Franklin
By Marjorie Pagel
Monday, Mar 24 2008, 10:11 AM
Most computer users are familiar with MapQuest or similar programs that show us how to get from here to there by following detailed directions and a line on a map. Of course, it’s still possible to get lost, depending on who’s the navigator sitting next to the driver. (Just ask my husband, who generally does the driving when we go anywhere together.)
A couple of months ago, as you probably know, Google has added a feature to Milwaukee area maps that should make it even harder to get lost navigating the local streets. Google now includes the “Street View” option, with photographs of the streets we drive on, along with glimpses of homes, signs, and scenery in our own neighborhoods.
The first time I did this, I had an eerie sensation that the Big Brother of George Orwell’s novel, 1984, had come to life and could see right into my kitchen window and tell everyone what I was doing. But then I realized, there was no snow on the ground. Everything was green, the way it will be in a month or two. All of these Milwaukee area photographs were taken last summer.
If you haven’t yet tried this, start by typing into your browser: www.google.com/maps There are all sorts of options to try, but I’m suggesting we start by typing “Franklin City Hall” into the box next to “Search Maps.” Almost instantly you’ll see a little map of the area, with Legend Park in green, Highway 36 and Drexel Ave. in yellow, and a choice of 17 specific locations to visit. For today’s tour I clicked on the library, and voila! – there in full color is our magnificent Franklin Library, and I can zoom in to see it up close or back off to see it from the street. That’s a helpful feature for people trying to find the library for the first time.
But now, for the real fun, I click on “Street View” and all of a sudden it’s as though I’m behind the wheel of a car looking northeast along Loomis Road. By clicking on the white arrows, I can choose to drive either northwest or southeast, or I can click on one of the curved arrows at the top of the insert to whirl around for a panoramic view. And then suddenly there it is: the Franklin water tower. If I click ”full screen”, I can see it up close. Ah yes, I remember -- Ted Fadrow was mayor when that familiar Franklin landmark was built!
Now you try it. Just zoom in and zoom out, follow the arrows and explore. Don’t worry if you get lost. You don’t even need a driver’s license. You’ll be safe and sound, sitting in front of your computer and – depending on how much time you have for local touring -- you can keep typing in different addresses, including your own, and take a spin around your own neighborhood.
In the meantime, I’m going to take my Hales Corners readers started on a virtual tour in their own village. Again, begin at www.google.com/maps and then type “Hales Corners Village Hall” in the “Search Maps” box. A little red balloon marked “A” will pinpoint the address at 5635 S. New Berlin Rd. You will see Grange Ave. in yellow to the north and Schoetz Park in green, to the southeast.
Driving southeast at 5634 S. New Berlin Rd., I see a white van approach in the opposite lane. Using the curved arrows, I reverse direction and, at 5612 S. New Berlin Rd., l can see two adults, dressed in shorts, their backs to the camera, taking a brisk walk along the left side of the road.
Sometimes on your virtual tours, you may see an orange stick figure. If you click on him, you can drag him to anywhere on the map. I did that just now, for fun, and moved him, as I would a board game piece, over to another green area southeast of Hales Corners – Whitnall Park. But all of a sudden, I found I wasn’t even on a road. My virtual tour had me navigating among the trees. Oh, it’s beautiful up here, but I’m glad my husband isn’t riding along beside me. He’d chide me about getting lost AGAIN and want me to put him back on the streets – even if they’re all covered with pot holes after this long Wisconsin winter.
Excuse me, while you make your own virtual tour discoveries. I’m going to put both hands on the steering wheel to see if I can navigate back to earth!
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