Where was this Mopar Brochure/Ad Photo shot?

[amazinblue82]

#178 Solution Hint.

For several of these "hard" games, you need something like "Google Earth/Maps" to "fly" around these places (in 2D or 3D) to get the angles you need for perspective on a car in the brochure/ad.

Then. after you can get streets/buildings/angles to "line up", you "drive" along that path, if necessary, till you see the view you're looking for.

That's the reason i asked folks who solve them to describe how they did it so anyone interested/with time enough to do it (it might take 30 to 45 mins to navigate the city) can join the party .

Shoot, I wasn't any good at this until we scoured NYC looking for that 70 New Yorker. Then it became a "mission" cuz I didnt wanna feel like I was "slippin" in my old age

Anyway, #178 is a little harder because of several potential places that Hyundai could be in relation to "landmarks" on the skyline. I picked the best one i thought .. somebody else may have a better read than me. If so, cool!

 

[MrMoparCHP]

After that coup on the "58 Imp, I dont doubt it. Guess you'll let this run for a while to get some other folks in?

if so, I still have got enough Dude posters to "engrave" for you and whoever else solves this one.

thx

Haha, had it in less than 5 minutes.


Alan

 

[amazinblue82]

took me five seconds to ID the city .. about 15 minutes to get the right spot though

thanks!

 

[78Brougham]

Not me... I have no idea LOL

 

[amazinblue82]

Hints to get you to the right place since this skyline is not as recognizable as i thought it might be.

1. Tallest building you can see on left of Hyundai "co-starred" in a Will Smith disaster movie.
2. Friday's "714" is a two-for-one hint - a city and a building.
3. photo is mildly "shopped" .. they took out some utility lines mostly.

Answers posted wednesday if nobody else gets it before then

 

[MrMoparCHP]

The biggest problem I have is the difference in lenses used in the ad pictures and the Google pictures. Simple triangulation will get you the location but the buildings in the distance look so much further away.


Alan

 

[amazinblue82]

my pic is from a bit closer to the city than yours cuz i wanted a closeup of the back of that rectangular overhead sign at far left.

u got a truer position of where the car actually was i think cuz the skyline/streer/car line up better than my pic.

but we were on the same "bridge".

yeah that google camera car lens is distortive .. like looking thru wrong end of binoculars.

 

[clhyer]

My best shot is in the area of 1070 E 1st St., Los Angeles CA.
Cal

 

[amazinblue82]

The Dudes.

MrMoparCHP got this puzzle first and very early on but graciously let it run. Clhyer has it too now. And both these fellas have described in detail in this thread how these puzzles are solved.

Los Angeles, CA, First Street "Viaduct". MrMoparCHP can post his solution if he wants to .. we exchanged PM's on it Sunday night.

Here's mine after I found the photo. Its in a slightly different place on the First Street viaduct and I labeled some things obviously.

The LA Skyline has at least TWO very recognizable buildings in the Hyundai pic. I dont know what the square-ish brown building is but I just used it as additional confirmation.

The US Bank Building got blown up in Independence Day (1996) by the aliens. LA City Hall is a fixture of a TON of movies and TV shows and one of the most photographed buildings in the world. Both have distinctive architecture.

"Friday's 714" is a reference to Sergeant Joe Friday's badge on Dragnet that ID's the city and the City Hall.

The viaducts over the "Los Angeles River" in the city are often the backdrops for filming car commercials, chases, etc in NUMEROUS shows, literally hundreds. Long, straight, easy to close for filming, they also offer great views of downtown LA as scenic backdrop.

The LA River (a concrete ribbon snaking through the city) has the same distinction (Terminator 2 with the Governator chasing the young John Connor on a motorcycle). Here's a photo of that with some of these viaducts crossing it.

Anyway, the envelope please? . Thanks guys.

 

[clhyer]

Good morning Ray!
Friday's "714" was the clue that allowed me to ID the city. And truth be told, it was my SIL that googled 714 and came up with Joe Friday's badge number. Once I had that I was good to go. What about your other clues; hard, fly, google earth/maps, line-up, drive, mission (I may understand this one), slippin, landmarks?

This was an interesting challenge. A good bit of photoshopping made for a "red herring" or two. Specifically, a light post just ahead of the drivers side mirror. It is just a double blur in the ad and I spent a good bit of time (before I knew what city) looking for a bridge (or hill) for the car with a suspension bridge tower in the background!
Cal

 

[amazinblue82]

Good morning Ray!
Friday's "714" was the clue that allowed me to ID the city. And truth be told, it was my SIL that googled 714 and came up with Joe Friday's badge number. Once I had that I was good to go. What about your other clues; hard, fly, google earth/maps, line-up, drive, mission (I may understand this one), slippin, landmarks?

This was an interesting challenge. A good bit of photoshopping made for a "red herring" or two. Specifically, a light post just ahead of the drivers side mirror. It is just a double blur in the ad and I spent a good bit of time (before I knew what city) looking for a bridge (or hill) for the car with a suspension bridge tower in the background!
Cal

hey Cal.

thanks for playing again (and your SIL too)

yeah the "shopping" around the car was misleading a bit in the add, BUT the skyline was the key all along, with a few other telltale symbols (the median fence, the overhead road sign with its curved pole and rectangular sign, etc.).

my #181 post was more of a reminder to folks that once the city was identified, you need to "triangulate" as Alan said to get the buildings and the streets and this case the elevation to line up -- despite the distortions of the Google street cameras on the background compared to the photo.

some people can just look at an "aerial" view in Earth or Maps and see where they wanna go to "street view". I tend to wanna go to 2D mode, flatten the image a bit, and "fly around" to look for "elevation" before I pick a street to "drive" on with Mr. Peg Man.

In this case, I knew it was LA, I knew it HAD to be a viaduct over the LA River, but honestly didnt know which one.

We shot a car commercial 20 years ago on the Six Street Viaduct, so first I looked there but did NOT see the angles I wanted. Then "rinse and repeat" on 4th srteet, and finally First Street made it all come together.

I called this one "hard" because NO clues beyond the photo itself were given at first. Like I did, I think Alan new the skyline immediately and even the viaduct perhaps. I thought others would at least recognize the skyline immediately.

The #185 hints were an attempt to get people to the right city .. then you STILL needed additional time/skill to find the street location.

thx again -- "Dude"

 

[MrMoparCHP]

The spot is between Google frames.
The cluster of three poles (seen just behind the car) in the center divider should split the two buildings in the background.
One of the poles looks to have been Photoshoped out, part appears to be seen in the middle of the window in the ad.
Getting the pole by City Hall to line up would define the spot but that is between frames, I checked for older street view pictures but they are not available for this area.

Things that made this a little difficult to pinpoint, the extreme difference in lenses, Google is in the other lane, being between frames, the degree of Photoshop.

I try to find points near and far that lineup and if needed a second set to help triangulate it.


Alan

 

[amazinblue82]

One more.

This puzzle is NO match for some of you with crazy good computer skills so when you get it, just let it ride please? PM me if you wanna confirm so i can recognize you at the end.

There will be no hints at all but sufficient landmarks should to get you to the right place rather quickly I hope.

I would call this puzzle "easy" for our North American members .. "medium" difficulty for our European/Australian friends.

1. One tough baby for City and State only.

2. One "Dude" for pic (gotta have a current day Google or other photo please) of exact location where this 1962 Triumph TR-4 was parked.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

I'm sort of a location hound, I have been doing this for probably 20 years, Google Earth and Street View just made it easier.
A few years ago I was surfin eBay looking for old postcards and ran across this one...

The only description was "1920's SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Highway"

This one took me about 25 minutes, I first drew a map of the road and then thought why would they take a picture of this road, what was the popular tourist corridors in the 20's

Alan

 

[amazinblue82]

quite the find .. proverbial needle in a haystack. where is this?

 

[MrMoparCHP]

quite the find .. proverbial needle in a haystack. where is this?

Topanga Canyon looking south from Woodland Hills, driven over this road many times, grew up about 12 miles from here. The camera spot is atop a hill and not a view you see when driving, the photographer had to hike to take this picture.


Alan

 

[amazinblue82]

while we're chewin' on #193 (that one isolved already btw but member is letting it run), this is from my discarded puzzle file.

I worked LONG and HARD on this to no avail for almost a year.

I had a hint it was Southern CA "mission" or church-school with a bell tower/steeple/spire that goes up out of the photo. that and the stone work has a Western US feel to it.

EVEN if it is such a church or similar building, it still could be anywhere in SoCal .. just that part of CA is BIG and heavily populated.

Its such a distinctive structure tho, chances are somebody has seen it, visited it .. wherever it is.

Its got a CA topography it seems .. but the structure is what will reveal it i think and not the geography.

Anybody who knows can run another game with it? Give the rest of us some clues? Or, we can let it marinate until someone stumbles on to it

 

[amazinblue82]

since no takers, #193 Answer will be posted tomorrow morning. Again, one member has it already, but as an expert and "award winner" agreed to let the game run.

 

[amazinblue82]

1962 Triumph is parked on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in NYC. View is looking WSW across the East River.

You cant (well I cant) quite get the same view as the 1962 picture because of Four Freedoms Park is now there.

You are looking at the United Nations complex. The "Hi Rise" is the Secretariat Building. The low domed building on right side of photo is the General Assembly Building. In 1964 they were only a decade old.

Just to the left of the hi rise is an older, brown (maybe 20 stories) brick building thats also in the 1964 photo.

New construction has hiding the Chrysler Building, clearly visible in the 1962 photo at right. The Empire State Building is behind the hi rise.

Another view from a different spot northward on Roosevelt Island and you can see ESB and Chrysler clearly from the different angle.

MrMoparCHP had the solution early on but graciously let it run on to get others into the action.

I believed it was an instantly recognizable skyline with the UN complex being on of the most photographed buildings in the world .. plus the Chrysler Buildings distinctive silhouette.

Anyway, #197 is unsolvable UNLESS someone knows the place. I doubt it can found otherwise. Good luck though

 

[amazinblue82]

#197 .. going waiting

New one. The Blue Oval crowd tryin' to trick us.

This photo is DEFINITELY "shopped" BUT in a vey "particular" way to try to disguise this city backdrop. Notwithstanding that, I do NOT believe this vantage point in this city is possible AT ALL (i.e, you CANNOT "drive" by the spot were this car is posing).

So, here's the game. Its an "Expert" level game, chime in whenever and whoever solves it -- if you want to. Or PM me if you wanna confirm your solution.

1. What city is this and what's wrong with the skyline? Ya get a "Dude" ONLY IF you answer this two-part question with a photo.

2. A "Dude Emeritus" distinction -- allowing you to be a dude for life without ever playing again -- if you can PLACE this vantage point in THIS city against the UN-disguised skyline -- without photo shopping the vantage point as I firmly believe these Ford jokers did.​

I believe this view is completely impossible. Once you answer #1. above, I think you will agree. BUT I would LOVE to be proven wrong with your evidence.

Answer posted this friday if nobody gets it.