Like a lot of others with fast Internet connections, I've been losing hours to Microsoft's free new Windows Live Local satellite (and aerial photo) service. I've scoured the L.A. mountains for spots I can never reach on foot, peeked into a few backyards and poked around New York, Boston and San Francisco.

Next to the amazing clarity, the best thing about it from a historical perspective is that the images are a few years old. (My house was captured between landscaping projects so I could date the photo pretty close.) For a break from Mike's important tear-down series, here's the Ambassador Hotel from space [* Correction: I re-read the info on Windows Live: it's a mix of satellite imagery and airplane photography. Not quite as impressive as I thought...] before the bastards began demolition. In the foreground is the north wing that as of this week no longer exists.

For another perspective, here's a larger view over the northern end of the Ambassador grounds with the bungalows still in place and Wilshire Boulevard at the top.