Camera Obscura

San Francisco County, CA
Listed: 05/23/2001

The Camera Obscura is significant under Criterion C at the local level as a rare example of the camera obscura apparatus that is more than 50 years old and in its original location. Camera obscuras were popular tourist attractions at seaside and scenic locations in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They were also popular for their educational qualities. There have been at least three camera obscuras in San Francisco. There was one at Woodward's Gardens, a popular San Francisco attraction of the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s. The second Cliff House (1896-1907) also contained a camera obscura on its fourth floor. This camera obscura would have been destroyed in the fire that burned the second Cliff House in 1907. The Camera Obscura built by Floyd Jennings in 1946 was the second camera obscura to be placed at the Cliff House site, a testament to the enduring fascination of the public with the scenic beauty of this spot.

The Camera Obscura in San Francisco is one of only two such optical instruments in California. The other one is located in Santa Monica and was moved in 1955 from its original location near the Santa Monica Pier to the Senior Recreational Center in Santa Monica.

The Camera Obscura in San Francisco appears to be the last example of a camera obscura in the United States that is contained in a free standing building and is older than 50 years of age. Other extant camera obscuras in the United States are less than 50 years old or if more than 50 years old have been moved from their original location.

National Register of Historic Places

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