Google definitely indexes SDMB threads. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve attempted to google for more information about a subject being discussed here, and the very first hit is the same thread that inspired me to search.
The fact there’s two other buildings with completely different designs slammed right up to either side of this one makes me think it could be southeast Asia or China, and in a more downtown-ish area. Russian/Soviet high rises were generally more spread out.
That may have been true at some point in the past, but the results of “desirable real estate in big city” are the same all over the world.
I found that image on this site where it was posted in 2018, which I think excluded the AI option. Photoshop, in the other hand, is still a possibility.
In the first post on this thread, there’s a link to Reddit - The heart of the internet . In that Reddit website, it says that the first post is a month old. It also says that the first person to post to that r/mildlyinfuriating . Can anyone here get hold of that person and ask them what they are talking about?
I meant to write that It also says that the first person to post to that is r/mildlyinfuriating .
I got the same results for the version of the image in the BuzzFeed article. When I tried the Google AI search on the version in the Reddit thread the article linked to, it said that the building was one of those in the Golden Star Residential Complex in Moscow. Those buildings are similar, but none have the design in the photo. From the views I could see in Google street view, none seem quite as wide as the building in the photo. Additionally, none have the building to the right of the photo. Having said that, the building to the side could have been taken down, and the side panels could have been replaced, but the building in the picture seems wider than those at that residential complex.
The Google AI search identified that the image was posted at the Russian site Pikabu as it has a watermark in the lower right corner. A Google image search found one page with the image on it from Pikabu, but it seems to be a repost (as the image was mirrored, including the watermark).
it seems like a lot of the pages with the image on it are Russian, so it does seem likely that the building is in Russia.
Regarding that, I’ve noticed that many of the buildings that housed the analog phone switches for the old AT&T were similarly windowless, even if many were not that tall. I think I read someplace that AT&T was concerned, especially in the 1960s, that these buildings would be the target of attack so they’re designed for security. My mother worked as a directory assistance operator in New Haven in the 1970-2000 era and she remembers that there was greater security in the part of the building containing the phone switches as well as the dial zero operators.