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Giant Camera
June 2002
The proprietor sits behind a window in a tiny room not much larger than a phone booth. He collects the $1 admission and directs you to the door. Enjoy the view.
You enter a small, dimly lit room. In the center of the room is a large parabolic disc. It glows with the swirling active motion of the rocky Pacific coast. The view is hypnotizing. You are standing in the belly of the San Francisco s Giant Camera camera obscura -a functioning relic.
The Jennings Giant Camera was built by Floyd Jennings in 1946 on the observation deck behind the Cliff House, which is as far west as you can go in San Francisco. It was built as an extension of Playland-at-the-Beach amusement park under then owner George Whitney, who also owned the Cliff House and Sutro Baths. Playland was demolished 30 years ago, the Giant Camera remains nearly hidden behind the Cliff House, and has kept its vigilant 360-degree eye on the surrounding Pacific Ocean, jagged Seal Ro ....

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