I have lived in New York City for 20 years now, and one of my favorite places for a night out is the IFC Center in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. They show indie films, they do David Lynch festivals, screenings of all the Oscar-nominated shorts - the list goes on. I once saw Wayne's World on the big screen, decades after it became one of my favorite movies.
The theaters at IFC are small and intimate - maybe 20, 30 seats? Itty bitty. Very fun.
...for these past 20 years, I didn't realize that I'd been watched by absolute strangers while inside the theater.
There is a peephole on the West side of 6th Avenue, along the wall of the IFC. When you lift the two lens covers, you can watch whatever film happens to be showing at that time. You can see the backs of audience members' heads. There is no guarantee that you won't see something R-rated. In the photo above the peephole is just to the right of the middle film poster, and it's a little high for children and folks who are under 5 feet tall, and may require a boost for those who aren't able to see at that height.
This is one of those only-in-New York experiences that, while not worth traveling specifically to see it, if you find yourself near certain other landmarks and have a curiosity about it, it's worth going a couple blocks out of your way.
If you're visiting Washington Square Park, the Hess Triangle, the Sex & The City brownstone, the Friends apartment, the Shirtwaist Factory Memorial, the Stonewall Inn, or the speakeasy at Five Guys - this is very close to all of those locations and it's a cool little Easter egg in the Village.
