Toomer's Corner: Rolling, the Oaks and How to Visit

Toomer's Corner is the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue in Auburn, Alabama, where campus meets downtown and fans roll the Auburn Oaks in toilet paper after a win. Toomer's Drugs has occupied the corner since 1896. Our private, student-led tours of Auburn meet at Ross Square, behind Samford Hall, about a 5-minute walk from the corner, as of October 2026.

What is Toomer's Corner in Auburn?

Toomer's Corner in Auburn is the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue, "where the university and the city of Auburn meet," in the words of Auburn-Opelika Tourism, the area's visitor bureau. Three things sit at the corner:

Toomer's Drugs, 100 N College St. The bureau calls it "the only business that has occupied this historic corner since 1896."
The Auburn Oaks. Two live oaks planted in February 2017. The university's Auburn Oaks page says they "form the famous Auburn Oaks at Toomer's Corner."
The Samford Park walkway. A path lined with 10 young oaks leads from the corner to Samford Hall.

Samford Hall is about a 4-minute walk from Toomer's Drugs, by our OpenStreetMap measurement in October 2026. Its clock tower plays the fight song every day at noon, per Auburn's traditions page.

The blocks across the street are downtown. Riley, our Auburn Campus Lead, describes them as "our whole downtown strip area where all like the social life and like restaurants and boutiques are at." Our guide to downtown Auburn covers the blocks around the corner, with parking and walk times.

Why do Auburn fans roll Toomer's Corner?

Auburn fans roll Toomer's Corner to celebrate a win, throwing toilet paper into the oaks at College Street and Magnolia Avenue. "After an Auburn Tiger victory, thousands of fans pour out of Jordan-Hare Stadium to roll the oaks at Toomer's Corner," says Auburn's traditions page.

The habit started with the news. Auburn Athletics says it "is said to have begun when Toomer's Drugs had the only telegraph in the city." Employees threw ticker tape over the power lines when word of an away win came in. Auburn Athletics and Auburn-Opelika Tourism both date the switch to toilet paper to the 1972 game against Alabama.

The celebration follows football. In a July 2023 article, Athletics wrote that fans "head straight to Toomer's Corner" from the stadium "every time Auburn wins a football game," and that the trees along College Street are covered in toilet paper by morning.

The university asks fans to treat the trees with care, per its Auburn Oaks page:

Stay outside the fences around the oaks.
Do not climb the trees.
Leave the 10 young oaks in Samford Park unrolled.

If your family is in town for a home win, expect thousands of fans at the corner after the game.

What happened to the Toomer's Corner oak trees?

The original Toomer's Corner oak trees were poisoned after the 2010 Iron Bowl and removed in April 2013, and the two oaks there now were planted in February 2017. The timeline comes from Auburn Athletics, the university's Auburn Oaks page and the Auburn Family Portal:

Early 2011. The original oaks are found poisoned. The university tries to save them.
April 2013. The poisoned oaks are removed.
February 14, 2015. Two new live oaks go in. Rolling waits until the 2016 football season so the trees can settle.
Fall 2016. Rolling returns. On September 25, after the LSU win, someone sets fire to the Magnolia Avenue oak, and the university asks fans to roll only the College Street oak.
February 18, 2017. Two new live oaks replace both trees, since the College Street oak had not taken well either. Rolling waits until officials judge the new trees can take it.
August 2023. The Family Portal reports "the Auburn Oaks were ready to roll again."

The 10 young oaks along the Samford Park walkway grew from acorns of the original trees, the university says.

Where do you park to visit Toomer's Corner in Auburn?

To visit Toomer's Corner in Auburn, park at the Wright Street Parking Deck, whose pedestrian entrance opens onto North College Street, or in a downtown street space. Rates are from the City of Auburn, as of October 2026:

The Wright Street Parking Deck, 140 Wright St. $1 an hour, up to $15 a day, and a flat $40 on home football Saturdays.
Street spaces and the Gay Street and Tichenor Avenue lots. $1 an hour on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., two hours at most. Free on weekday evenings and weekends.
Free city lots. East Glenn Avenue, Felton Little Park and the Douglas J. Watson Municipal Complex, each within about a 10-minute walk of the corner.

Coming from Jordan-Hare Stadium, the walk from the Stadium Parking Deck on Heisman Drive to Toomer's Drugs takes about 18 minutes, by our OpenStreetMap measurement in October 2026.

Time your stop for noon, when the Samford Hall clock tower plays the fight song, then get a Toomer's lemonade. The bureau's lemonade page says the drugstore is open seven days, as of October 2026. To see the oaks rolled, plan around a home football win: the last two home games of 2026 are November 7 against Arkansas and November 21 against Samford, per the athletics schedule.

A private tour of Auburn starts a few minutes from the corner: $150 for your family, 60 to 90 minutes, with a current student. TourCollegeTowns is independent and not affiliated with Auburn University.

Frequently asked questions

What is Toomer's lemonade?

Toomer's lemonade is the lemonade made by hand at Toomer's Drugs on Toomer's Corner. Auburn-Opelika Tourism calls it "hand-made to order" and "the hallmark of Toomer's Drugstore." On game days, the bureau says, the line "runs far beyond the doors of the drugstore."

How old is Toomer's Drugs?

Toomer's Drugs dates to 1896, when Sheldon "Shell" Toomer bought the store from his stepfather, Benjamin Lazarus, after earning a pharmacy degree at Auburn, per Auburn-Opelika Tourism. The store still sells its lemonade, plus sandwiches, ice cream and Auburn souvenirs, and the bureau listed it as open seven days in October 2026.

Can you watch Toomer's Corner live?

Yes, you can watch Toomer's Corner live on two webcams run by the City of Auburn. They show the College Street and Magnolia Avenue intersection and the campus gateway, per the city's Toomer's Corner webcam page. A look before you drive in shows how busy the corner is, which helps on a game weekend.