Key:was:building

was:building
Description
No longer existing building, temporarily mapped.
Group: lifecycle
Used on these elements
See also
demolished:building=* razed:building=* removed:building=* ruins:building=* ruined:building=* destroyed:building=* abandoned:building=* disused:building=*
Status: de facto
was:building=* More details at taginfo
Tools for this tag
taginfo · AD · AT · BE · BR · BY · CH · CH² · CN · CZ · DE · DACH · DK · FI · FR · GB · GR · HU · IE (N+S) · IN · IR · IT · LI · LU · JP · KP · KR · NL · NO · PL · PT · RU · ES · AR · MX · CO · BO · CL · EC · PY · PE · UY · VE · TW · UA · US · VN overpass-turbo QLever Postpass via overpass-turbo OSM Tag History

This key is using the lifecycle prefix was:*=* for tagging buildings that have been demolished, was is usually implying that no traces are left.

OSM is for features existing on the ground. This tag, however, is useful for preventing other mappers from inadvertently remapping demolished features that are still visible in some types of aerial/satellite imagery currently available in editors or other sources that can be used for mapping.

It must not be used for buildings gone and unlikely to be mapped by accident. Such objects should not be mapped and deleted if mapped. OpenStreetMap is mapping current state of the world, not its past.

Once aerials are updated such geometries should be removed.

Projects for mapping nonexisting buildings

For mapping buildings that were demolished a long time ago and for archiving demolished buildings, please see and use OpenHistoricalMap instead.

See also destroyed:building=*