Turn your phone into a virtual time machine.
Explore historical aerial imagery from across the United States and see how landscapes, cities, and neighborhoods have changed through the decades.
HistoricAerials lets you view historical aerial photography and map imagery from multiple decades directly on your mobile device. Instantly compare past and present imagery to understand how land use, development, and property boundaries have evolved over time.
Because HistoricAerials imagery is fully orthorectified, locations shown in the imagery are spatially accurate. You can obtain precise geographic coordinates for features visible in historic imagery, even if those features have disappeared today.
This makes it possible to locate forgotten structures, former industrial sites, abandoned roads, historic homesites, and other lost features directly in the field using GPS.
This powerful research tool is used by:
• Metal detector enthusiasts searching for old homesites, historic schools, and forgotten locations
• Environmental consultants conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
• Archaeologists researching historical landscapes
• Surveyors and engineers studying land development patterns
• Oil & gas professionals locating historic well sites and legacy infrastructure
• Real estate professionals investigating property history
• Urban planners analyzing land use change
• Historians and researchers exploring the past
• Property owners and land investigators
Key Features
• View historical aerial imagery spanning multiple decades
• Instantly compare past and present imagery
• Fully orthorectified imagery that is spatially accurate
• Obtain geographic coordinates for historic features and locations
• Explore property history and land development patterns
• Research sites for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA)
• Analyze historical land use and environmental change
• Discover abandoned roads, rail lines, historic structures, and forgotten places
• Frequently used to research historical land use in property boundary and land use disputes
• Perfect for archaeology, metal detecting, environmental consulting, and land research
• Access the HistoricAerials imagery library from anywhere
HistoricAerials hosts the largest online collection of historical aerial imagery in the United States, allowing anyone to explore how landscapes, properties, and communities have changed over time.
Now you can carry this virtual time machine with you wherever you go.
The browser version of historic aerials is really helpful. This app could be great but the developers’ monetization decisions make it complerely useless. The “parcels” lines (property lines layer) don’t display. I’m trying to use it without that necessary information (I’m metal detecting and need to ensure that I don’t go outside the boundaries of my landowner permissions). The top and bottom of the already-small phone screen are covered by banner ads for other apps, further reducing the available display area, and bumping them as I scroll makes the ads open. There are also constant video ads for that stupid animated king game, which seem to run for thirty seconds either every two or three minutes. Those ads include sound, when I need to be able to hear the detector’s signals. If the boundary layers was fixed and the ads were removed with a paid version, I’d give it a trial run. Otherwise, I’m sticking with my other property app and the browser version of this.
Ads make it broken
audiofreak33
Great website, app still a work in progress. Features like Split View are awesome, and I wouldn’t mind the ads, except that it is currently broken completely. The ad says it is loading but then gets stuck at 0s remaining, forcing you to hit the “back” button and then you lose your place and layer settings. App is unusable currently! If this bug is fixed, I’ll gladly update my review. iPad Pro 11” 3rd gen, v26.3.1
My favorite Website Now an App!
BUTTSTEAK69
I use the website all of the time to peek into the history of my town. I want to say it’s been a decade at least that I have been using the site and recommending it to people. I don’t understand the low ratings if I’m being completely honest. I downloaded, immediately searched, changed the year, and topo. It worked perfect! Sure in our modern world there is “always room for innovation and improvement”… but I think that even if this is the beginning for this app, it’s amazing!! Thank you to the devs for making this an easy application to always have on hand for when I want to learn some history. ❤️
Truly, TRULY Awful Company and App
Q4242
After setting the bar as low as humanly possible with the antiquated, glitchy, almost totally useless web experience, they’ve perfectly migrated that frustration and buginess into this awful app as well. And they want to charge a premium for it! In every facet of this company’s design, interface, and business decisions, it’s obvious that this is one of those companies that views their own customers as hostile enemies. Fine. There are much better alternatives out there. I sincerely hope for Historical Aerials eventual failure and cessation to exist. Adios!
We’ve updated the design to improve the overall map experience by consolidating multiple buttons into a single expandable control, allowing users to see more of the map with less screen obstruction and providing a cleaner, more streamlined interface, along with general performance improvements and bug fixes.
Version 1.2.0
The developer, Nationwide Environmental Title Research, LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Location
Contact Info
Identifiers
Usage Data
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Usage Data
Sensitive Info
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More