Walk into the main entrance of the old site of Lawry's Prime Rib on Ontario, and you're immediately greeted with mystery.
A wall of oak postal drawers, mirrors and a vintage desk phone welcomes you into the 5 story, 37 plus room space that was once McCormick Mansion.
"The minute we saw the outside, and then when we saw the inside, despite it being in great disrepair, and literally one of the floors was about to fall through yet immediately, I said, this is the place," smiled Glen Tullman, Chicago entrepreneur and the brainchild behind Hand & The Eye.
It's been a 40 year dream for Tullman, a magician himself, to create an experience similar to the Magic Castle in the Hollywood Hills of California.
"I found a magic kit when I was 8 years old and started experimenting and playing with magic. I was fascinated with magic both in terms of the wonder it created for not just me, but for everyone. You could do a magic trick and get the attention from all the adults in the room. " he recalled.
"Later in my life, I used to take clients to Schulien's (now O'Donovan's in North Center) in Chicago and also to the Magic Castle (in California) which is a members-only magicians club. Going there and taking guests there, no one ever forgot it. I wanted to create that kind of of experience in Chicago. The Magic Castle was in the early 60's when it was opened and I thought what if we could reinvite that same kind of theme but take it to the next level as if we were going to do it 60-70 years later and that's what we've done here." Tullman smiled.
Chicago Entrepreneur and co-founder of The Hand & the Eye, Glen Tullman
Lisa Fielding/WBBM Newsradio
McCormick Mansion was built in 1889 as a family home. It became a casino in the 1930s and then a Puppet Theatre in the ’40s. Most recently, it was home to Lawry’s Prime Rib for nearly 40 years.
As you walk up through the stairway, guests will see some of the original brickwork and special touches that pay tribute to the original building.
"All the art work is an homage to the history of the building and we have pictures of the building back in the 1940s and some of the great old time magicians here. We have Alexander Herman's famous rings from the rings illusion from the 1880's. You can see some of the restoration work to the mansion back in the day." said Tullman.
In one of the stairways, you see one of the hundreds of artifacts from magicians past.
One of the dozens of performance rooms inside The Hand & the Eye
Lisa Fielding/WBBM Newsradio
"We have Houdini's handcuffs from the Houdini collection and we have his original handcuffs here. We also have one of two remaining-one of the most valuable pieces of magic-one of two of the original milk can illusions where he'd get inside the milk can, they'd fill it with milk, close it up, he'd wave his hand and then he'd suddenly appear behind the people and the milk can was empty. We have that and the pictures of him doing that." he said.
The restoration and decoration is designed by The Rockwell Group. The food is curated by Levy Restaurants.
The 40,000 square foot space has five different entrances.
"Each room is different. There's a Gatsby-esque room, original rooms from the McCormick Mansion. There's a different smell and a different music score written for each room. The second floor is where the various eating spaces are. We also have a bank vault room. The grand staircase is the original from Lawry's. This is called ""The Chamber" for close up magic. This is a unique room because sometimes people appear in this room that didn't come in with you," he laughed. "We're not sure if it's haunted or what's going on in here. We have an old telephone booth where people go in but they come out in other places in the mansion." laughed Tullman.
The Grand Parlor of The Hand & The Eye
Matthew Reeves, The Hand & The Eye
Every level and every room is unique, with meaning in the names and the era.
"We you come here, you get a sense of the history of magic, you experience magic, you have great food, and you're in an environment like any other environment in Chicago. A visitor even remarked that this may be the most beautiful place built in Chicago in the last 20 years." said Tallman.Tickets start at $225, including a $75 dining credit toward dinner. Attendees can also apply to become members.
"Because the mansion is so large, it would be impossible to explore the mansion in one visit. That's why we also offer memberships. There's dozens of performance areas. Every week we have different magicians performing from around the world and each of your experiences are curated so we know if you've been here before." he said.
Tullman says in the end, the project is about magic but it's also about restoring history, and helping to revitalize Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
The gold keys and postal boxes reserved for members at The Hand & The Eye
Lisa Fielding/WBBM Newsradio
"We're going to rename it the Magic Mile," he laughed. "We're seeing Michigan Avenue re-energized and reinvited. There's also Chicago style magic which we bought back. There are so many people who remember it. The idea of Chicago-up close, bar magic, up to your table and we've reinvited that here."
"We wanted this to be the best place in the world to experience magic but also the best place for magicians to perform it and magicians love to perform here because each room was built to optimize their performance, the lighting, what they do and things that allow them to do what they do. We've had magicians from around the world to perform here."
The Hand & The Eye is open Sunday through Wednesday from 4 to 10pm, and Thursday through Saturday until 11pm.
For more information about The Hand & The Eye, click here.
The Red Herring Room
Matthew Reeves, The Hand & The Eye
