Cloudflare Lava Lamps

What you need to know

What Makes It Worth It

The concept is brilliant and absurd in equal measure. A retro novelty item from the 1960s is helping secure modern internet traffic. The wall of lamps is colorful and hypnotic, rows of glowing, bubbling columns in red, blue, green, and yellow, all slightly out of sync with each other.

The lobby is accessible during business hours. You can walk in, look at the wall, read the small explanatory display, and leave. The whole visit takes about five minutes. There is no tour, no guide, no gift shop. Just lava lamps and a camera doing serious cryptographic work.

Best for tech enthusiasts, security nerds, and anyone who appreciates elegant solutions to hard problems. Good for a quick photo.

Skip this if lava lamps and internet infrastructure do not excite you. It is a lobby display, not an exhibit.

Visiting

Address: 101 Townsend Street, SoMa

Hours: Lobby accessible during business hours, roughly 9:00 AM-5:00 PM weekdays.

Cost: Free

Best time to go: Weekday lunch hour when the lobby is accessible.

What to know: This is a working office lobby. Be respectful and do not touch the lamps. Photography is usually fine. Access may vary; check if the lobby is open to walk-ins.

Getting There

Transit: Caltrain to San Francisco station (4th and Townsend), 1-minute walk. Muni T-Third or N-Judah to 4th Street.

Parking: Metered street parking on Townsend. Garages in SoMa nearby.

Walking: Near AT&T Park (Oracle Park), the Caltrain station, and the South Beach waterfront.