Google Maps lets you zoom in pretty close for its mapped locations, but there's a secret way you might be able to zoom in even closer. Here's how.
Reddit user xythrowawayy revealed this trick when debunking another Redditor's claim of a murder happening near his house:
Start by going to somewhere on Google Maps, say, http://goo.gl/maps/t4sph
Zoom in as far as it will let you by clicking on the "+" sign at the top of the magnification slider at the top left of the map.
When you're in as far as you can go (heh) but not all the way to street view (if the location you're looking at even has street view), look over at the white space just to the top left of the map....where the little printer and chain link buttons are.
Click on the chain "link" button. That will show you a box with a long URL to the map you are looking at and another box with some HTML code to embed. Ignore the HTML code.
Copy the long URL and paste it into your browser's address bar, but don't hit enter to go to that URL yet. Instead, click to edit it and scroll all the way to the right. It should end with something like "&z=22". Change the 22 to 23 ("&z=23") and hit enter. If Google Maps has imagery at that higher zoom level, it will show it to you.
I tried it with both the faux murder scene (which turns out to be two people with a wet dog) and the Empire State Building, and it works, much like other Google URL tweaks. It doesn't work for all locations, however. Your best bet is major cities. Xythrowawayy says you can view some high-res images for them not available to you by default.