{"id":61411,"date":"2026-10-24T04:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T04:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/61411\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T04:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T04:14:14","slug":"chicagos-the-hand-the-eye-brings-magic-to-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/61411\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago\u2019s The Hand & The Eye Brings Magic To Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those yearning for a spellbinding experience this Halloween would be well-served by visiting The Hand & The Eye, a new Chicago dining and entertainment establishment that\u2019s become a premier destination for live magic and illusion. <\/p>\n

Just steps from Michigan Avenue\u2019s Magnificent Mile, The Hand & The Eye has completely transformed the historic L. Hamilton McCormick Mansion, turning it into what\u2019s being touted as the world\u2019s largest magic venue. <\/p>\n

Entering the 1895 mansion now evokes a speakeasy, a fun house and a cabaret all at once. Guests are whisked up grand staircases and through secret passages into three floors of drawing rooms, parlors and lounges, each doubling as a performance space. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Hand & The Eye, which opened in April, has quickly become Chicago\u2019s premier destination for live magic and illusion. <\/p>\n

William Jess Laird for The Hand & The Eye<\/p>\n

The Hand & The Eye began as a passion project for Glen Tullman, a longtime magic enthusiast. The Illinois-born healthcare entrepreneur reportedly poured $50 million into renovating the 36,000-square-foot mansion, which previously served as a private residence, a casino, a puppet theater and a restaurant, from the ground up. <\/p>\n

He also tapped architect and designer David Rockwell, whose r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes sets for the Academy Awards as well as recent productions of \u201cChess\u201d and \u201cInto the Woods\u201d on Broadway, to develop a space that would harken back to a bygone era while eschewing the tired image of magicians pulling rabbits out of top hats. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in love with magic since I was 8 years old,\u201d Tullman told HuffPost. \u201cThat\u2019s when I turned \u2018professional,\u2019 and did my first job for $5. The challenge was that my fee never improved, so I had to stay in school … but the dream to create a unique home for magic, where people would travel from all around the world to experience and share the wonder and joy magic creates, has never been far from my heart and imagination.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"EnteringEntering the 1895 mansion evokes a speakeasy, a fun house and a cabaret.<\/p>\n

William Jess Laird for The Hand & The Eye<\/p>\n

Tullman and Rockwell\u2019s vision also appealed to Bre Smith, who was soon brought on as The Hand & The Eye\u2019s executive vice president. Collectively, she said the trio worked to cement The Hand & The Eye\u2019s motto of \u201cmagic plus hospitality equals astonishment,\u201d and expand its scope of immersive offerings so each visit would feel \u201ctruly bespoke for everyone who comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

To guarantee that all magicians keep their tricks under wraps, guests are prohibited from taking photos or videos during their visit. That policy, Smith said, was a no-brainer: \u201cYou can turn off the real world for a moment, and forget about what\u2019s happening outside the walls of the mansion.\u201d <\/p>\n

Since opening to the public in April, The Hand & The Eye has hosted a rotating lineup of nightly performers, including esteemed magician Michael Ammar and mentalist Richard Osterlind.<\/p>\n

On a recent September evening, magician Jeff Kaylor dazzled a roomful of guests with some disappearing (and reappearing) shrimp, while Richard Turner proved he\u2019s still one of the world\u2019s greatest card sharks by showcasing his sleight of hand in a cozy, second-floor lounge. <\/p>\n

\"\u201cI\u2019ve\u201cI\u2019ve been in love with magic since I was 8 years old,\u201d said Glen Tullman (left, with designer David Rockwell). <\/p>\n

Chicago Tribune via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Between performances, guests retreat to one of two dining rooms, where they can enjoy steaks, seafood and a variety of pasta dishes, among other options. <\/p>\n

The Hand & The Eye will give its offerings a seasonal twist at its first-ever Halloween event on Oct. 31. Dubbed \u201cThe Midway of Wonders,\u201d the all-night event pays homage to the 1893 Chicago World\u2019s Fair and famed illusionist Harry Houdini, who died exactly 100 years ago.<\/p>\n

Though Smith is tight-lipped on what Houdini\u2019s, ahem, participation in the evening\u2019s festivities will entail exactly, she quipped: \u201cWe\u2019ll be awakening the spirit of him. I know he\u2019ll be present.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Hand & The Eye wouldn\u2019t feel out of place in New York or San Francisco, among other cities; still, Tullman has acknowledged that his enterprise is a gamble. It\u2019s also high-end, with cocktail attire required and a nightly admission of $225 per person, which includes a $75 dinner credit. <\/p>\n

\"GuestsGuests are whisked up grand staircases and through secret passages into three floors of drawing rooms, parlors and lounges, each of which double as performance spaces. <\/p>\n

William Jess Laird for The Hand & The Eye<\/p>\n

So far, the response has been encouraging. In September, The Hand & The Eye was named a finalist for a 2027 Jean Banchet Award, Chicago\u2019s prestigious culinary honor, in the best design category.<\/p>\n

That same month, Rockwell celebrated his 70th birthday at the mansion alongside his girlfriend, \u201cUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt\u201d actor Jane Krakowski, and guests that included Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, among other celebrities. <\/p>\n

Smith, meanwhile, is confident The Hand & The Eye will become a luxury destination for milestone occasions \u2015 so far, the venue has hosted at least seven marriage proposals \u2015 as well as the Windy City\u2019s home base for new generation of up-and-coming magicians. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them have grown up together. They travel together … it\u2019s a really beautiful community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe truly believe in the power of magic to inspire all of us.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"SinceSince it was built in 1895, the McCormick Mansion has served as a private residence, a casino, a puppet theater and a steakhouse. <\/p>\n

Douglas Friedman for The Hand & The Eye<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those yearning for a spellbinding experience this Halloween would be well-served by visiting The Hand & The Eye, a new Chicago dining and entertainment establishment that\u2019s become a premier destination for live magic and illusion. Just steps from Michigan Avenue\u2019s Magnificent Mile, The Hand & The Eye has completely transformed the historic L. Hamilton McCormick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2409,43782,12381,2726,2725,2723,2770,2724,43781],"class_list":["post-61411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-illinois","tag-chicago","tag-dining-and-nightlife","tag-halloween","tag-illinois","tag-illinois-dining","tag-illinois-food","tag-illinois-grocery-stores","tag-illinois-restaurants","tag-magic-and-illusion"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117493947698499853","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}