Camera Obscura, San Francisco
historic place
The Camera Obscura is a historic place in San Francisco, California, located in San Francisco County. Floyd Jennings built it in 1946 as an attraction for Playland-at-the-Beach. Around 1957, the building was modified to resemble a giant camera. Inside, a ten-inch rotating mirror projects live images of the surrounding Pacific Ocean and Seal Rocks onto a viewing surface. This Camera Obscura was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. It is notable as one of the last freestanding camera obscuras in the United States that is over fifty years old and remains in its original location.