Peephole Cinema

What you need to know

What’s There

A peephole built into a wall at 280 Orange Alley in the Mission District, off 26th Street between Mission and Valencia. Looking through it shows curated short films projected on a loop inside. The films rotate regularly: experimental, animated, and art-house shorts ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes long. Only one viewer at a time.

The Peephole Cinema is one location of a small chain started by artist Laurie O’Brien in 2013, with sibling installations in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.

Visiting

Address: 280 Orange Alley (off 26th Street between Mission and Valencia), Mission District

Hours: 24/7. The peephole is always accessible from the alley.

Cost: Free

Best time to go: After dark, when the projected image is brighter through the peephole. Daytime works too.

What to know: It’s a peephole in a wall in a quiet residential alley. Look for the small sign.

Getting There

Transit: BART to 24th St Mission, then walk two blocks south on Mission to 26th Street; Orange Alley is just off 26th, between Mission and Valencia. The 14-Mission and 49-Van Ness/Mission buses also stop nearby.

Parking: Street parking in the surrounding blocks. Tight on weekends.

Walking: A short walk from the Mission’s 24th Street corridor; easy to combine with the murals of Balmy Alley a few blocks east.