San Francisco's Fogcam, the oldest continuously operating webcam in the world, will finally go offline at the end of the month.
The live webcam, which has been running for 25 years, will be shut off permanently on Aug. 30, Friday, according to Jeff Schwartz, the man behind the project.
"We felt it was time to let it go," he told the SF Gate. "The bottom line is that we no longer have a really good view or place to put the camera."
Oldest Continuously Running Webcam In The World
Schwartz installed the webcam with his colleague Dan Wong in 1994 to watch the weather change in San Francisco State University. The idea was inspired by The Trojan Room Coffee Pot cam, the first ever live webcam set up at Cambridge University in 1993.
The Trojan Room Coffee Pot was a way to monitor a communal coffee pot. The scientists credited for the invention of the webcam propped a camera in the main computer lab Trojan room in Cambridge University to create an easy way to see whether fresh coffee is available without leaving their seats.
While The Trojan Room Coffee Pot was shut down in 2001 after 8 years, the Fogcam persisted. It pointed at Holloway Avenue and broadcast continuously except for the few times it was temporarily shut off for maintenance or moved to a different location so it can maintain its view.
For Schwartz, the Fogcam was only a way to practice coding and get familiar with early web technology. He did not expect the project to be so popular and run for 25 years.
"It was just a little pet project that developed a life of its own," he shared. "People liked it so we kept it going."
Lasting Legacy
The Fogcam is also one of the first to experiment with the early stages of social media. The webcam has its own digital chat room.
While the live webcam will be taken down, its website will remain online "for sake of posterity." Schwartz is not sure whether the San Francisco State University, which does not officially endorse the project, will want to keep the live webcam going. He, however, is welcome to the idea if they do.
