"Spirit Tree" Joplin's Tornado Landmark in 360° Panorama

A year ago a deadly EF-5 tornado ripped through the city of Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and damaging or destroying about 7,500 homes and 500 other buildings. 

Despite it all, the city is well into a significant recovery mode but there is still work to be done. Along the tornado's path at the intersection of East 20th Street and the Kansas City Southern Railway tracks, where Dillon’s grocery store used to be, now stands the colorfully painted “Spirit Tree” — a new landmark for the city of Joplin. 

Its surroundings are still somewhat vacant but here and there is evidence of new homes being built and new hope as the survivors work hard to recover. It's worth noting that if you perform a search the tornado path on Google Maps you can see a bird's eye view of the devastation from last year. (This information is current as of May 23, 2012.)