via Block Club Chicago

DOWNTOWN — A $50 million magic theater is slated to open inside the previous Lawry’s Prime Rib restaurant, marking a massive investment in the Magnificent Mile area.
The Hand & The Eye will take over the McCormick Mansion at 100 E. Ontario St., just around the corner from the Mag Mile. The 35,000-square-foot space will have 37 magic rooms and a tour that will focus on the history of “close-up magic,” according to a news release.

Visitors will be guided through secret passageways throughout the mansion, encountering “world-class” magicians along the way, according to the news release. The experience is meant to be intimate and personalized to groups as they make their way through the venue.
Chicago entrepreneur Glen Tullman and architect David Rockwell are behind the development of the venue, with locally owned Levy Restaurants planned to run the dining operation. Levy runs food and beverage programs at sports stadiums and venues across the city.

“This is not something you go to see. It’s an experience you have and are a part of,” Tullman said in a statement. “And once you have the experience, you want to share it with others because it’s impossible to describe, like a picture that doesn’t capture something you saw. You must be there to feel it.”
Magicians are also part of the founding team — and among them is the theater’s curator of magic, Jeff Kaylor. Kaylor, creator of Magic Moments, travels across the United States performing magic and delivering keynote speeches, according to his website.
McCormick Mansion was built in 1889 as a family home, but it became a casino in the 1930s and then the Kungsholm Grand Opera Puppet Theatre in the ’40s. Most recently, it was home to Lawry’s Prime Rib for nearly 40 years.
The Hand & The Eye plans to be open seven nights a week, and it will be open to adults only. Dinner reservations will also be available. Tullman told the Tribune the menu is likely to be upscale with a dress code that bans jeans and sneakers.
Seven theaters inside the mansion will offer seating for 25-100 guests, and they will be customized for everything from close-up magic to medium-range illusions, according to the Tribune. The venue will also feature live jazz and a retail store.
The venue is set to open in spring 2026. Tickets and memberships will be available through an exclusive pre-release.

Monday, May 5
6:30 PM
@ ​Magic Inc.

What can magicians learn from cognitive scientists?

Recent years have seen widespread interest in and call for a “science of magic” that learns from the psychological insights and methods of magicians. In just the last decade, renowned magicians, like Teller, Mac King, James Randi, and Apollo Robbins, have authored papers meant to be read not by magicians, but by scientists who study attention and perception. Although much of the work up until now has been one-sided (in that scientists are benefiting from magicians), the collaboration should be a two-way street. In his presentation, Dr. Barnhart will illustrate some of the ways that magicians can enhance their performances by integrating principles and discoveries from cognitive science.

Cognitive scientist, Anthony Barnhart, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science at Carthage College and a part-time professional magician. He borrows hypotheses and techniques from magic to study attention and perception in the laboratory, and has authored both empirical and theoretical works on the interface of science and magic. A leader in this burgeoning field, he was a founding member of the Science of Magic Association and frequently appears in national and international media. Most recently, his work was featured on an episode of the CBC’s The Nature of Things with David Suzuki devoted to the science of magic. He regularly teaches a college course devoted to the cognitive science of magic.