Camera Obscura at the Cliff House

The Camera Obscura, installed near the Cliff House in 1946, is a large optical device that projects a live, panoramic image of the Seal Rocks and ocean onto a viewing table inside a darkened room. It uses a system of lenses and mirrors mounted in a rooftop housing to invert and focus the exterior view for visitors. The apparatus is one of the few public camera obscura installations in the United States and is operated near the historic Cliff House site.