Places near me Random place
All the United States California San Francisco The House of Days
The House of Days is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

The House of Days

An unassuming grey box sitting on San Francisco's Pier 17 is a "sky diary" of the coastal city's temperamental weather.

San Francisco, California

Added By
Logan Hesse
The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-housing   Hiding in Plain Sight
Description of the House of Days sky diary.   Hiding in Plain Sight
A photo mosaic of photos, each tile representing a day.   Hiding in Plain Sight
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

As the old saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in San Francisco, wait five minutes and it will change." The House of Days backs this adage up with photographic proof. 

Housed in a building that once contained a searchlight to scan the bay for invaders during wartime, this unassuming exhibit is easy to miss. Built in 2009 as part of the Outdoor Exploratorium, The House of Days records an image of the sky once every 24 hours, creating a 'sky diary' illustrating a day's worth of changing light and weather. 

A small window allows viewing of the images, with a set of controls that allow the viewer to toggle between 24 images arranged in a grid or a single photo, with a wheel that allows you to scroll backwards and forwards in time.

Update September 2016: Along with the other Fort Mason Exploratorium exhibits, the House of Days was deinstalled in July of 2015.

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Related Tags

Science Astronomy

Know Before You Go

Head up McDowell Drive towards Fort Mason center from the base of the Municipal Pier

Community Contributors

Added By

HashielDammit

Published

April 11, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources

Nearby Places

Explore the Destination Guide

Related Places

  • Gregory’s Meridian Line

    Saint Andrews, Scotland

    Gregory's Meridian Line

    Scotland's claim to the prime meridian was laid 200 years prior to the one in Greenwich.

  • Telescope domes at Pine Mountain Observatory.

    Millican, Oregon

    Pine Mountain Observatory

    In the high desert east of Bend, the University of Oregon maintains a research observatory on a remote mountain peak.

  • The Pink Clubhouse and the Porter-Turret Telescope

    Springfield, Vermont

    Stellafane Observatory

    An amateur telescope-making club has been gathering at this Vermont site for more than a century.

  •

    Leuven, Belgium

    'Primeval Atom'

    An installation that makes understanding the size of the universe a walk in the park.

  • Ladd Observatory

    Providence, Rhode Island

    Ladd Observatory

    A 132-year-old telescope continues to keep watch over the night skies above Providence.

  • Archenhold Observatory from above

    Berlin, Germany

    Archenhold Observatory

    This public observatory is home to the "celestial cannon," the longest pointable telescope in the world.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member

Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member