The Creepy Reason Google Maps Blurred This House On An Ordinary Street

On a seemingly normal street in Cleveland, Ohio, a house with a dark past has been hidden on Google Maps.
The home, located at 2208 Seymour Avenue, sits between a series of other ordinary-looking homes in suburban Ohio. From the bird’s eye view on Google Maps, users can see a slate gray roof nestled between other houses, but on Street View, the house is completely flat
The house was once owned by muggers Ariel Castro who kidnapped three women and held them captive in the house for nearly a decade. The women, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Georgina “Gina” DeJesus, were raped and abused by Castro until 2013, when Berry contacted neighbors who called the police.
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Castro was arrested in May 2013 and pleaded guilty to 937 of the 977 charges he was charged with. As part of the plea deal, the house on Seymour Avenue was taken from his possession and demolished.
Netflix recently released a documentary about the abductions.
The house on Seymour Avenue is blurred on Google Maps Street View
Google Maps
It is not known if a new home has been built on the land, but the house is likely unclear for security and privacy reasons.
Any user can ask Google to blur their house on Street View by using the “Report a problem” button. Often government officials, CEOs and celebrities will have their homes censored to protect themselves.
Famous houses like the house used in Alone at home have been dimmed to protect owners from unwanted guests.
However, once a house is blurred on Google Maps, it is permanent, so users should be careful when requesting a censored house.
Google Street View technology has come under criticism from people who believe it is an invasion of privacy. But all photos are taken from public property, so don’t invade the privacy of any private person in the United States.
Google blurs people’s license plates and faces to preserve privacy. Recently, users have discovered that Google has started blurring the faces of pets to protect owners as well.
Some places are invisible on Google Maps such as Area 51, the Marcoule nuclear site, etc.
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