Samford Hall Webcam – Auburn’s 1888 Landmark

The Samford Hall Webcam looks down on the red brick building that Auburn University has used as its signature image for well over a century. The clock tower stands in the middle of the frame, its faces catching the light as the afternoon moves across them, and the lawn below fills the lower third with oaks, footpaths and people cutting between classes. A second camera on the same channel turns the other way, out across Samford Lawn toward the storefronts on College Street. Foot traffic on the paths thickens on the hour and thins again a few minutes later, which is the most reliable clock on the page apart from the real one.

About Samford Hall

Samford Hall stands on the site of Old Main, the first building of the college that opened here in 1859 as the East Alabama Male College, three years after the school was chartered in 1856. Old Main burned on June 24, 1887. Its replacement went up the following year to a design by the firm of Bruce and Morgan, and part of it was built from bricks salvaged out of the ruins, so the building in frame is made in part from its own predecessor.

The taller of the two flanking towers was built to carry a clock, and the clockworks and bell were installed in 1889. The clock faces sit about 34 meters (112 feet) above the ground. The tower reaches 47 meters (154 feet) at the roof and 54 meters (176 feet) at the weathervane, which makes it the tallest tower on campus. The camera is mounted high enough to put those faces close to eye level instead of looking up at them from the grass, which is why the hands are usually readable on a clear day.

The building was known simply as the Main Building for its first four decades. In May 1929 it was named for William James Samford, an Auburn graduate who went on to serve as the 31st governor of Alabama. It houses the university administration today, and the lawn in front of it is the open green that the second camera watches.

Weather and Climate in Auburn, Alabama

Auburn sits at roughly 212 meters (696 feet) above sea level in Lee County, in a humid subtropical belt that gives this camera long hot summers and short mild winters. July is the warmest month, averaging close to 27 C (80 F), and the heat that builds through a summer afternoon often ends in a thunderstorm that darkens the frame for half an hour before clearing. Across a typical year the temperature moves between about 3 C and 33 C (38 F and 91 F), and it rarely falls below minus 4 C (25 F) or climbs past 36 C (97 F).

January is the coldest stretch, with a mean low near 8 C (46 F), mild enough that the grass on the lawn can stay green through much of the winter while the oaks around it are bare. Spring and autumn give the cleanest views, when the humidity drops and the far edge of the frame sharpens up. Deep summer does the opposite: haze softens everything past the tower, and the brick can look washed out under a high sun. Autumn afternoons are when the lawn tends to be busiest, since home football Saturdays pull crowds through this part of campus.

Things to Do Near Samford Hall

Toomer’s Corner is a short walk north of the building, at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and College Street, where the campus meets downtown. Toomer’s Drugs has held that corner since 1896, opened by Shel Toomer, who had played halfback on Auburn’s first football team in 1892, and its lemonade is what most visitors are sent there for. The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art sits at the entry to the main campus with a collection of roughly 2,500 works spread across six changing galleries, alongside an auditorium, a cafe, a formal garden and outdoor sculpture on its walking paths.

Chewacla State Park lies just south of town and is the closest place to get properly outdoors, with camping, hiking, mountain bike trails and swimming in Lake Chewacla. Back on campus, the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center programs chamber music, dance, jazz, musical theater and touring concerts through the academic year. Auburn recorded 76,143 residents at the 2020 census, which is enough to keep the walkable core around the lawn busy without turning it into a city center.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Samford Hall located?

Samford Hall is on South College Street on the main campus of Auburn University, in Auburn, Lee County, in eastern Alabama. It is about a five minute walk south of the Magnolia Avenue and College Street intersection that marks downtown Auburn.

What can you see on the Samford Hall Webcam?

The primary view frames the building itself from above, with the clock tower centered, the second tower to its left and the tree lined lawn running along the bottom of the picture. The Samford Lawn tab looks the opposite way, down over the same green toward the College Street storefronts and the buildings behind them.

How old is Samford Hall?

The building was completed in 1888, replacing Old Main, which burned on June 24, 1887. The clock and bell followed in 1889, so the tower has kept time on this spot for well over a century.

How tall is the Samford Hall clock tower?

The clock faces are about 34 meters (112 feet) above the ground, the roof of the tower is at 47 meters (154 feet) and the weathervane at the top reaches 54 meters (176 feet). No other tower on the Auburn campus is taller.

What is the weather like in Auburn, Alabama?

Auburn has a humid subtropical climate. July averages close to 27 C (80 F) with frequent afternoon thunderstorms, and January has a mean low near 8 C (46 F). The annual range usually runs between about 3 C and 33 C (38 F and 91 F).

Why is Samford Hall important to Auburn University?

It sits on the ground where the institution started, it was rebuilt from the bricks of that first building, and its clock tower is the image the university puts on almost everything. The hall was named in 1929 for William James Samford, a graduate who became governor of Alabama.

Why does the Samford Hall Webcam sometimes show a different scene?

There are two separate cameras here, and the page carries both. The main player holds the view of the hall, while the Samford Lawn tab switches to the camera pointed out across the green. Either stream can also drop out briefly when the university restarts it, and it comes back on its own.

Source: Auburn University