Check out these 360-degree panoramas of Cleveland's landmarks, streetscapes taken by photographer Lee Hawkins.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Nighttown owner Brendan Ring can't say enough about how much his bookings for private parties have increased since photographer Lee Hawkins captured and posted panoramas showing the inside of his spacious restaurant, jazz club and special events venue.
Nighttown owner Brendan Ring, left, seated with original owner John Barr, said Lee Hawkins' panoramas have increased Nighttown's bookings by private parties. "The feedback's been absolutely phenomenal," Ring gushed. Those who have never stepped foot inside the award-winning 50-year-old Nighttown can now take virtual, 360-degree tours of the interior, as well as stroll among the four rooms, three bars and three patios. They can look up at pictures on the walls and zoom in on the details in ways they can't when the place is packed.
"People get a much better feel for the flow" as they envision holding their receptions and banquets there, Ring said. "It feels like you're walking through the place."
That's exactly the kind of experience Hawkins is hoping to project with his ambitious glimpses of prominent Cleveland landmarks, businesses and streetscapes.
CHECK OUT SOME OF THE PANORAMAS HERE.
His panoramas, stitched together from thousands of individual high-res photos, let viewers stand in the middle of PlayhouseSquare and admire the theater district's signature chandelier. Or roam around the lobby and among the tenants' exhibits at the Global Center for Health Innovation. Or stand beneath the Tiffany-esque rotunda in Heinen's Downtown Cleveland store, and watch the ceiling seem to twirl above them.
Hawkins, a Cleveland native who sometimes shoots for Google Street View in addition to his own Indoor360.com in North Olmsted, sees what he does as the perfect way for retailers, hotels, restaurants and apartment buildings to invite people inside their businesses. Or for local venues to show those coming here for next summer's Republican National Convention, for example, exactly what Northeast Ohio has to offer.
He says people spend, on average, three to four times more time on websites with panoramas embedded in them, and all of that is time they're not spending on your competitors' websites. Those scouting for venues are already spending a lot of time online, comparing restaurants and reception halls, weighing whether to go downtown or stay in the suburbs, and panoramas make those businesses easier to find, he said.