Toomer’s Corner Webcam – Watch Downtown Auburn, Alabama

The Toomer’s Corner Webcam looks across the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue, the spot where downtown Auburn, Alabama, meets the Auburn University campus. A brick gateway into Samford Park sits in the middle of the frame, flanked by the live oaks of Toomer’s Corner, with the red brick clock tower of Samford Hall rising behind them. On a normal weekday the scene is students crossing to class and cars waiting at the light. After a big Auburn win, the oaks are often draped in toilet paper, and the camera catches the crowds that night and the cleanup the next morning. A second tab, the Quad Cam, splits the same corner into four angles, including the Toomer’s Drugs storefront and the tiger paw set into the pavement.

About Toomer’s Corner

Toomer’s Corner marks the northeast edge of the Auburn University campus and the start of downtown Auburn. It takes its name from Toomer’s Drugs, opened on the corner in 1896 by Sheldon “Shel” Toomer, a former Auburn halfback who went on to serve as a state senator. The pharmacy still trades at 100 North College Street and is best known for its lemonade, made by hand to order and once ranked by Esquire magazine. The bricks in the center of the intersection form the paw print of the Auburn Tigers, which reads clearly from above on the Quad Cam.

The habit of covering the corner in paper started in the 1960s, when telegraph operators at the drugstore threw ticker paper over the power lines to announce Auburn wins. Toilet paper took over after the 1972 Iron Bowl, remembered as “Punt, Bama, Punt”, when Auburn beat second-ranked Alabama 17 to 16. The original oaks did not survive the rivalry. In 2010 an Alabama fan, Harvey Updyke, poisoned them with the herbicide Spike 80DF and confessed on the Paul Finebaum radio show on January 27, 2011. Years of work by horticulturists could not save them, and they came down in 2013. Two new live oaks, each about 11 meters (35 feet) tall, went in on February 14, 2015. Those were set on fire in 2016 after a win over LSU, and in February 2017 two fully grown oaks replaced them. These are the trees on camera today.

Samford Hall, the clock tower in the background, was built in 1888 after fire destroyed the university’s first main building, Old Main. The school itself was chartered in 1856 as East Alabama Male College. The town is older still: Auburn was founded in 1836 and incorporated on February 2, 1839. It sits at 212 meters (696 feet) in Lee County, had 76,143 residents at the 2020 census, and calls itself the Loveliest Village on the Plains, a phrase borrowed from Oliver Goldsmith’s poem The Deserted Village.

Weather and Climate in Auburn, Alabama

Auburn has a humid subtropical climate. Summers are long and hot, with July highs around 33 C (91 F) and nights that rarely drop below 21 C (70 F), and afternoon thunderstorms can roll across the frame with little warning. Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons to watch. April highs sit near 24 C (75 F), and October highs near 25 C (77 F) with cool evenings around 13 C (55 F). October also falls in the middle of football season, when home game weekends pack the sidewalks around the corner.

Winters are mild, with January highs around 13 C (56 F) and lows near 1 C (34 F). Snow is rare, averaging just 1.8 centimeters (0.7 inches) a year, so a white Toomer’s Corner on this camera is far more likely to be toilet paper than snow. Rain is spread through the year and adds up to about 1,337 millimeters (52.6 inches). Live oaks keep their leaves through the winter, so the frame stays green in every season. After dark the intersection is lit by streetlights and Samford Hall is floodlit, so the view still works at night.

Things to Do Near Toomer’s Corner

Start with a lemonade at Toomer’s Drugs, then walk through the Samford Park gate on camera and onto campus. Jordan-Hare Stadium, home of Auburn football, holds 87,451 fans and is the reason the corner fills up on fall Saturdays. The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, on the university’s grounds, has permanent collections and rotating exhibitions. For a quieter hour, the Donald E. Davis Arboretum grows around 150 species of trees native to Alabama, with labeled paths that make it an easy walk.

Beyond campus, Kiesel Park is a 200 acre (81 hectare) city park with trails and open lawns. Chewacla State Park, on the edge of town, covers 696 acres (282 hectares) around Lake Chewacla, a 26 acre (11 hectare) lake used for fishing, swimming and non-motorized boating. Back downtown, the blocks along College Street and Magnolia Avenue hold the shops and restaurants you can see from the camera, and they stay busy late on game days.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Toomer’s Corner located?

Toomer’s Corner is the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue in downtown Auburn, Lee County, in east-central Alabama. It sits at the northeast corner of the Auburn University campus, with Samford Park on one side and Toomer’s Drugs on the other.

What can you see on the Toomer’s Corner Webcam?

The main view looks across the intersection to the Samford Park gate, the Toomer’s oaks and Samford Hall’s clock tower. The Quad Cam tab shows the same corner from four angles, including the Toomer’s Drugs storefront and the Auburn tiger paw in the pavement.

Why do Auburn fans roll Toomer’s Corner?

It is how Auburn celebrates a big win. The tradition grew out of telegraph operators at Toomer’s Drugs throwing ticker paper over the power lines in the 1960s, and it switched to toilet paper after Auburn beat Alabama 17 to 16 in the 1972 Iron Bowl.

What happened to the original Toomer’s oaks?

An Alabama fan poisoned them with herbicide in 2010, and they were removed in 2013. New oaks were planted in February 2015, damaged by fire in 2016 and replaced with two fully grown trees in February 2017.

What is the weather like in Auburn, Alabama?

Hot and humid in summer, with July highs around 33 C (91 F), and mild in winter, with January highs near 13 C (56 F). Spring and autumn are pleasant, snow is rare, and rain falls throughout the year.

Who runs the Toomer’s Corner Webcam?

The City of Auburn operates both cameras and streams them on its YouTube channel: the main Toomer’s Corner view and the four-angle Quad Cam.

Can you watch Toomer’s Corner at night?

Yes. Streetlights keep the intersection lit and Samford Hall is floodlit after dark, so the corner stays visible at night, which is when the crowds arrive after a late game.

Source: City of Auburn