Starting in a few months, Google Maps users will finally be able to explore detailed, 360-degree images from Liberty Island and Ellis Island using Street View, The New York Times reports. While most of New York City has been accessible via Street View since 2007, the two islands have been to this point been “off the map,” so to speak.

The reason for the delay lies in the islands’ status as national landmarks. Access to Liberty Island is controlled by the National Park Service, according to the Times, and it took Google awhile to navigate through the process.

Last week, Google began to rectify the situation. The search engine sent Alberto Elias, photographer, and Daniel Sieberg, Google Technologist, to begin cataloging the islands. To accomplish this task they are using the Trekker, one of five Google Street View devices used to collect data and imagery. According to the Times, the Trekker is a 40-pound apparatus with 15 cameras, a GPS device, and a laser system on top, which snaps panoramic images that are stored every two and a half seconds.

“You’re able to immerse yourself in imagery that makes you feel like you’re standing on the steps of the Burj Khalifa, your favorite neighborhood coffee shop or even underwater in the Great Barrier Reef,” Sieberg told the Times, describing the technology.

With the Trekker, Google has come a long way from its initial Street View image collection system launched in 2007.

“When we first started Street View as an experimental project, we packed several computers into the back of an SUV, stuck cameras, lasers, and a GPS device on top, and drove around collecting our first imagery,” Google said.