*New* A new vintage image of the Santa Monica Camera Obscura from our collection was added 11/07.
Santa Monica, California
August 20, 1998


Inside the Santa Monica Camera Obscura, Jack looks at the image on the table. This is a composite of a flash picture to show the interior and a non-flash to show the image on the table.

For years we have heard about the camera obscura on the sea front in Santa Monica, California. This summer we decided that the time had come for a visit. We flew from San Francisco after visiting the Giant Camera to L.A. We spent the night with friends in Woodland Hills and the next day drove into Santa Monica to look for the camera obscura. We knew it was in a senior center near the beach and hoped we could find it. It was easier to find than we expected. When we came to the end of Santa Monica Boulevard we saw a low building with a taller square tower with the image of a camera on a tripod and the words "Camera Obscura" in script.

We had been told that the mechanism came from a turn of the century camera obscura next to the pier and was installed in the Senior Recreation Center in 1955. Images showing the camera obscura early in the 20th century are shown below. We went into the center where several seniors were shooting pool. We knew from friends that we should go to the office, leave a driver's license, and receive a key to the camera obscura located up a flight of stairs. When we asked for the key the young woman in the office told us that the mechanism that turns the lens turret was broken and they had been waiting for weeks for the city to repair it. We had come thousands of miles to see it and it was not working! As we were talking to her a family came in and asked to see it as well. Since we wanted to turn on the light to get a good look at the interior we were glad when they decided to come back when it was repaired.

Images from the Santa Monica Camera Obscura in our collection
Even though the present location is not the same as the one that stood for many years on the Santa Monica beach the "heart" of the building is the same and it is very close to the spot where the original stood. For this reason we have chosen to include pictures of the earlier building here.

The sepia, card mounted photographs above of the beach in Santa Monica from the late 19th or early 20th centuries shows the camera obscura in the distance. It is a little under 4X5 inches. An enlargement of the image shows a man siting on the steps of the camera, the cupala with lens at the top, and signs on the side. The beach camera obscura was moved and remodeled over the years. A later interation is shown in the post card below.

The postcard on the left is undated but the caption on the back says that the Camera Obscura was given to the city in 1907. The color is printed on the card but is certainly not "from nature" but applied to a black and white photograph. Wonder if the building was that shade of green? This building appears to be the location and color featured in the late 1940s, radiio drama Quiet Please in an episode called Camera Obscura that describes the Santa Monica camera obscura as a green frame building on the beach. This episode is avalable as audio cassette SFH-423 from the Radio Showcase web site.

We now have a real photo postcard that shows the camera obscura above. It is side view of this location that appears to be above the beach while the earlier photographs above are on the beach. The dress of the people in the card below appear to place it in the 1930s. * added 11/07

Magic Mirror of Life Home Page and Site Map

What is a camera obscura?

Why we created this site

Frequently Asked Questions about the Camera Obscura (please check this page before sending email questions)

Links and a Bibliography about the camera obscura

Map and illustrated diary of
our visits to US camera obscuras

Map and illustrated diary of
our 1996 trip to Great Britain camera obscuras

Images of camera obscuras from our collection.

Some Images from our collection
Trade Cards with Camera Obscuras
Lost UK Seaside Camera Obscuras
Other Lost UK Camera Obscuras
Lost US Seaside Camera Obscura
Lost US Park Camera Obscuras

Portable and box camera obscuras from our collection.
Wooden Camera Obscuras
Metal Camera Obscuras
Camera Obscuras with the Lens at the Top
Cardboard Camera Obscuras
A French Artist's Camera with supplies
Vermeer's Camera, a 1934 teaching camera
Camera Obscura Publications

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Modified 11/2007