Camera Obscura (San Francisco, California) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Camera Obscura
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 Location in San Francisco County
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1096 Point Lobos Ave., San Francisco, California |
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| Built | 1946 |
| Architectural style | Novelty |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000522 |
| Added to NRHP | April 20, 2001 |
The Camera Obscura in San Francisco, California, is a special building. It acts like a giant, old-fashioned camera. This unique attraction is found in the Lands End area, which is part of the Outer Richmond District.
It sits on the cliffs near the famous Cliff House restaurant. This spot is just north of Ocean Beach. The Camera Obscura and the restaurant are owned by the National Park Service. They are both inside the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In 2001, the Camera Obscura was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important historical site. The National Park Service took over the site in 1977.
History of Camera Obscuras
Camera obscuras are devices that use light to project an image. They show what is happening outside onto a surface inside a dark room. They usually work with sunlight. These cool devices have been around in San Francisco for a long time.
The first mention of a camera obscura in the city was in the 1860s. It was part of an attraction called Woodward's Gardens. Later, in 1896, an earlier version of the Cliff House had one on its fourth floor. Sadly, this camera obscura was destroyed when the restaurant burned down in 1907.
When the third Cliff House opened in 1937, a businessman named Floyd Jennings had an idea. He suggested adding a new camera obscura next to the restaurant. It was built in 1946 and has been working ever since!
How the Camera Obscura Works
The San Francisco Camera Obscura projects a live image onto a round, white table. This table is inside a dark room. The image comes from a special viewpoint at the very top of the building.
At the top, there is a metal hood that slowly spins around. It takes about six minutes to make a full circle. This allows you to see a 360-degree view of everything outside!
Light enters the building through an angled mirror in the spinning hood. Then, the light goes through a large lens. This lens helps focus the image. It has a focal length of 150 inches (about 381 centimeters). The lens projects the image onto the curved white table. No one is completely sure where the lens came from. But it seems it was once part of a telescope. It was probably made by the Clark Lens Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Why It's Preserved
The Camera Obscura was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. It was recognized for its amazing engineering. In 1957, the outside of the building was changed. It was made to look like a giant camera!
However, the inside parts of the camera obscura are what make it special. They have stayed the same since it was built in 1946. These original workings are why it is on the Register. The outside design from 1957 also became old enough to be considered historically important in 2007.
