The Incredible Disappearing Theater

My longtime pal Craig Miller, who also grew up in this area, notes that Google Maps also shows the Carthay Circle Theater (or "Theatre," as they spell it) still situated where it used to be. In fact, I note the Wunderground map I saw apparently is the Google Map.

Where it gets even curiouser is when you zoom in and out on the Google Map. At a distance, it shows the Carthay Circle where it was pre-1969. As you get closer, the theater disappears and is no longer on the map. You should be able to do this on the inset map below…

A couple of my correspondents have already suggested one thought. Map-makers sometimes include phony names and places on maps in order to identify when someone plagiarizes their work. Maybe someone left the Carthay Circle Theater on a map deliberately just to see if someone else would pick up on the error…not that it would be actionable but it may have been left in as an identifier.