Interactive WebGL visualization of all 47K buildings in Manhattan
An interactive 3D visualization of the all the buildings in Manhattan.
Interactive WebGL visualization of all 47K buildings in Manhattan launched on April 23, 2018 with 151 votes, #190 of 2,753 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 8 years on.
In plain words
This interactive 3D visualization displays all 47,000 buildings in Manhattan in a WebGL-based map. Users can explore the city's architecture from different angles and zoom levels, with controls to adjust the number of buildings displayed for performance. The tool works best on desktop Chrome browsers due to memory requirements, though it may struggle on mobile devices. It is designed for anyone interested in urban geography, architecture, or exploring Manhattan's built environment.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Unfortunately, there have been some issues getting this running on iOS due to memory constraints. It is strongly recommended you view this on Desktop Chrome 😬 Before we download a bunch of data, I just wanna mention this visualization tends to work best with Chrome. If you choose to go ahead and view with this browser, you can generally improve its performance by selecting "Fewer Buildings" from the dropdown controls menu in the upper righthand corner of thefrom tbaldw.in
Does a similar job
all alternatives →- 101,053,713 buildings in New York City, shaded by year of construction2013 · bdon.org · ▲96
Photogrammetry of Seattle landmarks rendered in WebGL2022 · arcsineimaging.com · ▲25An interactive tour of four Seattle landmarks reconstructed using photogrammetry and presented in 3D with dynamically-projected photographic textures.
Rendering One Million Datapoints with D3 and WebGL2020 · blog.scottlogic.com · ▲200Over the weekend I was discussing the latest news relating to open weights with some of my non-techie friends. After 30 mins of waffling, I realised it is quite a long and interesting story, with many twists and turns. I've always wanted to create a 'long scroll' story, but have never found a suitable story to tell. This felt like a fun weekend project to undertake. The story itself doesn't have too many scroll effects (which is probably a good thing), it was more about trying to tell a story with a certain style that wouldn't really fit on my personal blog. Would love to get your feedback…
ViziCities 0.3 – Framework for geospatial visualisation in the browser2016 · github.com · ▲89A framework for 3D geospatial visualization in the browser - UDST/vizicities
- FTFourier Transform Visualized via WebGL2021 · static.laszlokorte.de · ▲175
- MPMountain Peaks in WebGL2020 · felixpalmer.github.io · ▲281
More life & fun this month
the category →
A free city-building game in your browser. You are the mayor. You know what the city needs. Now get it past the zoning board, the neighbors, the appeals court and the next election.
Life & fun · 3d ago · permit.petercai.com
- IV
Life & fun · 15d ago · tanzaniaeducationproject.org
Turn a phone, tablet or TV into a sign. Type a message and it fills the screen: welcome signs, timers, Wi-Fi passwords and more. No app, no account, free.
Life & fun · 16d ago · bigwords.page
Play a free virtual guitar online with your keyboard or by touch. Slow songs down and see every chord, string and strum. Acoustic, classic, electric and bass.
Life & fun · 10d ago · guitoro.com
Carrier settings from iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy firmware, decoded and compared: APNs, VoLTE, 5G and Wi-Fi Calling per carrier, and what each build changed.
Life & fun · 14d ago · carrierexplode.com
Life & fun · 24d ago · space.bl2.net
Source: Show HN post ↗
Launched alongside, April 2018
the whole month →
Stripe Billing▲1,030Billing and subscriptions for fast-growing businesses
Dev tools · 2018 · stripe.com
More than just chat. Intercom's new app platform.
Life & fun · 2018 · fin.ai
The Internet’s fastest, privacy-first DNS resolver
Dev tools · 2018 · one.one.one.one
Artboard Studio▲732Online graphic design app mainly focused on product mockups.
Growth · 2018 · artboard.studio
