But this house is different.
Depending on who you ask, the house was built in 1906 or 1907—around the same time as the housing subdivision (then known as "Prospect Square") was created. It was designed by architect W.J. Saunders for a "society woman" named Ella Bartlett, who lived there (rather unhappily) for a time with her second husband Charles S. Eaton.
Truth be told, she preferred the company of a single lady named Margaret Pence, who became her companion after Charles scandalously divorced her on grounds of physical and emotional abuse.
But that's not the most fascinating story that this house has to tell.
This California Stick Chalet-style bungalow...
...built along "Prospect Creek"...
...on the Prospect Park Tract in the Prospect Historic District...
...has a secret collection inside of it.
There are some clues to what's in store for you once you get past the exterior gingerbread details—but only if you look closely at the light fixtures...
...search the garden for fairies...
...and investigate what hangs from the trees.
Particularly in the twilight hours, it feels magical...
...mysterious...
...and even devilish.
This is the so-called "Magic House," the private residence of professional magicians (and spouses) Mike Caveney and Tina Lenert.
By the time of its construction, Harry Houdini had already successfully completed the "Mirror Handcuff" escape in London and had escaped from the Washington D.C. prison that once held President Garfield's assassin.
But although Houdini is probably the only turn-of-the-century magician that anybody knows by name anymore, he certainly wasn't the only one of the time.
Inside the Magic House, you can get to know many of Houdini's lesser-known contemporaries through the artifacts collected here.
Mike and Tina have spent years accruing ephemera, memorabilia, and what-have-you of some of the greats from throughout the "Golden Age of Magic."
They've got a library that's stacked floor-to-ceiling with various tomes...
...and the creepy faces that peer out from in between them.
Sure, some of it may be gimmicky.
Some of it may be so incredibly simple that a child could learn to do it.
But where the real mysteries lie is behind the door to the "Egyptian Hall," a recreation / relocation of an extensive private collection that dates back to 1895 in Kenton, Ohio.
The Egyptian Hall Museum contains one of the world's most comprehensive collections of actual performance posters from stage magicians like "Alexander, The Man Who Knows" (a.k.a. "Alexander the Crystal Seer") and Chung Ling Soo, the magician who was discovered not to be Chinese after he was shot to death onstage during one of his tricks that went miserably wrong.
There are also escape barrels...
...vintage publications...
...a magic chair...
...and even the pillory from vaudeville headliner "The Great Leon."
You can find a carousel of magic wands...
...that were used by many different famous magicians...
...as well as various decks of cards...
...and other props for card tricks...
...as well as some trick cards.
The Egyptian Hall Museum collection has expanded over time, of course—and it's gotten shuffled around, too.
The whole thing was relocated from Ohio to Tennessee in the 1950s...
...and in 1999, it was sold once again and split between Mike in Pasadena and fellow collector George Daily in Pennsylvania.
Since Mike is still a performing magician (who you might find at The Magic Castle), and he's still collecting, anybody who's got something magical to sell or give away knows who to contact.
More often than not, it's junk. But Mike is the kind of guy who's got to chase every goose... just in case.
And every now and then, he stumbles across something so unique, he's got to have it.
It just has to have some connection to magic—even if it's a snoring cessation device made of wire nostril expanders that was invented, marketed, and (unsuccessfully) sold by Thurston the Great Magician.
Upon your visit to the Magic House, Mike might treat you to one of his own professional routines...
...but don't expect him to tell you all of the secrets behind them.
Magic tends to be better when it's left a mystery.
Related Posts:
A Magical Night Out in Hollywood
Photo Essay: Gamble House, Pasadena
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