Tea-room, National Archives most viewed places on Google Maps
Matatus at Tea Room bus stage in Nairobi.
Google Street View on Tuesday released data showing Kenya’s most searched locations in the past year.
The locations include bus stations, historical buildings, business centres, national parks, museums, hotels and cities.
According to the data, Nairobi’s Tea-room area, 24-hour makeshift bus termini for travellers heading to Rift valley, Western, Central and Coastal Kenya regions attracted the highest number of views.
Tea-room is also a major business hub hosting businesses selling assorted wares from footwear, uniforms, water pumps, vehicle spare parts, hand, motorised and electrical tools among others.
Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service, situated on Moi Avenue next to Ambassadeur Hotel emerged second.
It is a popular landmark that holds 40,000 volumes of historical information and houses the Murumbi Gallery, which contains African artefacts that were collected in the 19th century.
In third place was Imenti House and in fourth place was Star shopping mall both of which house several exhibition stalls selling clothes, perfumes, phones, and other items.
Fifth on the list was Kimathi Chambers which houses Equity Bank.
Total Energies Front View Service Station, the first petrol station one encounters as you drive into Mombasa from Nairobi emerged sixth in the list, followed by United Snacks and Hotel, Bihi Towers, RNG Plaza in the seventh, eighth and ninth positions respectively.
Nyayo House, which is located at the corner of Uhuru Highway and Kenyatta Avenue, closed the top 10 list and was mostly sought for immigration and naturalisation services.
Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service, situated on Moi Avenue next to Ambassadeur Hotel emerged second.
The data also reveals that people exploring Kenya on Street View from across the globe mostly sought to familiarise themselves with Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret.
There was also a spike on Street View for users looking for information and images on the National Archives Moi Avenue, Fort Jesus Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Aberdare, Karen Blixen Museum and Kitale Museum.
Virtual representation
Sharon Machira, the Google communications and public affairs manager, Kenya, said that Street View is a virtual representation of our surroundings on Google Maps, consisting of billions of panoramic images.
“Street View’s content comes from two sources, Google and contributors. Through our collective efforts, we enable people everywhere to virtually explore the world,” she said.
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world.
The data was released to commemorate Street View’s 15th anniversary and to showcase the various places that hold significance to Kenyans.
Top Museums Clicked on Street View between April 2021 - April 2022
1. Kenya National Museum Society
2. National Archives Moi Avenue
3. Fort Jesus Museum
4. National Museums of Kenya
5. Aberdare
6. Karen Blixen Museum
7. Kitale Museum
Cities and Admin Areas with the most visitors on Street View
1. Nairobi
2. Mombasa
3. Nakuru
4. Eldoret
