Did Ruscha invent Google Street View?

Blogger Rob Walker of The Design Observer has recently discovered a series of photographs by Ed Ruscha in a book called Every Building on Sunset Strip (above) which suggests a similar or even identical concept to that of Google Street View (only on a smaller scale!). Ruscha had attached his motorized camera to his Ford in 1965 and documented each building along sunset strip. Google Street View went live in the UK in March 2009 and faced scrutiny as people became concerned about privacy when the panoramic images included faces. It has also been the subject of humour where interesting images were snapped and added to the site.  Read more from DO here.