This is a project I've been working on and off for the past couple years. Prior to my starting this project, there was only a few buildings downtown modeled by the WEDC. For the most part, I'm working on modeling the WPI campus and surroundings, although I hope to eventually work my way down town by the time I graduate.
Yeah, I take the photos for the textures myself. I prefer cloudy days because it softens the shadows and reduces glare. The textures for the roofs come from the google imagery.
This week I discovered that the Worcester Assessors Office has diagrams of all the buildings- makes it much easier to make models since I don't have to guess about dimensions anymore.
Some of the textures are so good - for example the Thule Building - that I'd really like to see a more detailed version of the building (more extrusions and intrusions on the facade) than just the flat surfaced Google Earth version.