Your city's stories are hiding in plain sight
Raise your phone to the landmarks worth knowing and watch their history unfold!
Works anywhere
ArchSpy draws on Wikidata and OpenStreetMap worldwide. Some cities go deeper — local and regional archives are live for:
- Portland, Oregon
- San Francisco, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- New York, New York
Plus every listing on the National Register of Historic Places across the United States, and the national heritage registers of England, Ireland, and Australia. More are being added all the time.
What it is
ArchSpy uses augmented reality to reveal the history and architecture of the buildings around you — names, dates, architects, styles, and the stories behind them.
About the project
I'm an independent developer, and I built ArchSpy because I kept walking past buildings I found beautiful or strange and had no way to learn about them in the moment. The history was out there — in public archives, surveys, and the National Register of Historic Places — but scattered and hard to reach on a sidewalk.
ArchSpy brings those sources together so you can point your phone at a building and read its story: who built it, when, in what style, and why it matters. It's free to explore, and a paid tier (called 'Keystone') is coming for the full histories, offline access, and more.
It started in Portland and grows outward as I add data — eventually with help from the people who know these buildings best. If there's a building you love, or a city you want next, I'd love to hear from you — tell me in the form below.
Feedback
Found a bug, a building with a great story, or something confusing? Tell me.
Want your city?
Tell us where ArchSpy should go next and we'll let you know when it arrives.
Support ArchSpy
ArchSpy is an independent project. If you'd like to chip in towards a coffee to keep me going and adding sources for new cities:
☕ Tip on Ko-fi