Camera Obscura

Santa Monica's camera obscura,originally located on the northern portion of Santa Monica's beach was built and donated by Robert F. Jones, the nephew of one of Santa Monica's early founders, Senator John P. Jones and open to the public on APril 21, 1899. The camera obscura was moved to Palisaded Park in 1902 due to weather conditions down at the beach. The instrument was last moved to a specially built room in the Seniro Recreation Center at 1450 Ocean Avenue in November 1955.

The idea of a 'pin-hole' camera originated before Aristotle, which he used to observed the sun during a partial solar eclipse. The camera obscura works by creating an inverted image of the scene outside the darkened rooms window through a small hole. Camera obscura were found on coasts for the amusement of beach-goers in the Victorian era. A 360 degree view of the surrounding area is possible when you visit Santa Monica's camera obscura.



    Camera Obscura in Pacific Palisades showing an image of the Deauville Club in the  

                                                               mid to late 1950s