What is Google Earth 3D Buildings Layer?
This is an overview of the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth as it currently exists with Google Earth 5. The 3D Buildings layer has evolved a great deal since Google Earth was first released. In the early days, Google only provided simple 3D gray buildings with no color or photo textures (see example). Over time, as Google Earth graphics capabilities advanced, the 3D Buildings layer models have become much more realistic and interesting. You can now find many complete 3D cities rendered in photorealistic detail in the layer for Google Earth. One of the biggest detailed examples is New York City. 3D Buildings Layer folder in Google EarthThe 3D Buildings layer folder actually has two sub-layers: Photorealistic (models with photos applied to add complex details and colors), and Gray Buildings which are 3D geometric models without photo textures or colors. The latter usually came from GIS databases provided to Google by cities or 3D city database companies. Eventually Google acquires phot
