Google Places API nearby search missing places - google-maps

Question

I am attempting to find the nearest building/place name using the Google Places API but have been confused by why some places are not included in the results even if you entered the exact coordinates.
For example, if I searched Google Maps for "UCLA Murphy Hall", google maps is able to find the building and return its Geocode. However, if you entered that Geocode into the Nearby search API, the returned results does not include the building regardless of search radius.
My questions are:
Why is there a difference in what you can search via google maps text search vs what you can get from nearby API?
If I want to be able to find the name of the building from the geocode (34.0715597,-118.4392192), what should I be using?
What is the best approach to map a geocode -> Nearest full street address (with street number) -> nearest building/business?
Thanks in advanced!

Answer 1

Here is some code from an old project of mine reagarding:
What is the best approach to map a geocode -> Nearest full street
address (with street number)
first function gets the nearest street coords based on the lat & lng you provide
second function gets the formatted address of the coords that first function returned
// get nearest coords based on given tracking
tb.prototype.getNearestStreetCoords = function(lat, lng, callback) {
var parentClass = this;
var nearestStreet = {
latitude: lat,
longitude: lng
};
if (parentClass.useNearest != true) callback(nearest);
var request = {
origin: new google.maps.LatLng(lat, lng),
destination: new google.maps.LatLng(lat, lng),
travelMode: google.maps.DirectionsTravelMode.DRIVING
};
directionsService = new google.maps.DirectionsService();
directionsService.route(request, function(response, status) {
if (status == google.maps.DirectionsStatus.OK) {
callback(response);
} else {
callback(false);
}
});
}
// get nearest formatted address based on lat & lng
tb.prototype.getAddress = function(lat, lng, callback) {
geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();
geocoder.geocode({'latLng': new google.maps.LatLng(lat, lng)}, function(results, status) {
if (status == google.maps.GeocoderStatus.OK) {
callback(results[0].formatted_address);
} else {
callback(false);
}
});
}
UPDATE
Distance calculation function, between 2 lat - lng points written in php.
function distance($lat1, $lon1, $lat2, $lon2, $unit = 'M') {
$theta = $lon1 - $lon2;
$dist = sin(deg2rad($lat1)) * sin(deg2rad($lat2)) + cos(deg2rad($lat1)) * cos(deg2rad($lat2)) * cos(deg2rad($theta));
$dist = acos($dist);
$dist = rad2deg($dist);
$miles = $dist * 60 * 1.1515;
$unit = strtoupper($unit);
if ($unit == 'K') {
return ($miles * 1.609344);
} else if ($unit == 'N') {
return ($miles * 0.8684);
} else {
return $miles;
}
}

Answer 2

For turning geocodes into full street addresses, I'd suggest you try our Reverse Geocoding service. Using the above location coordinates, reverse geocoding returns "410 Charles E Young Drive, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"
Documentation: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/#ReverseGeocoding
Example request: http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?latlng=34.0715597,-118.4392192&sensor=true_or_false