“With a $50 million investment in the struggling Magnificent Mile, the Chicago healthcare entrepreneur Glen Tullman is opening a massive new live entertainment venue in the historic McCormick Mansion (100 E. Ontario St.), most recently the home of Lawry’s Prime Rib restaurant. Tullman said the new venture, called The Hand & The Eye, will employ some 200 people and offer seven different performance spaces, along with multiple bars and a dining experience, all devoted to the art of magic.
“‘This is not some six-month pop-up thing. This is a once-in-a-generation project,’ Tullman said during a tour of his venue under construction. Opening night is anticipated for March 2026.
“The closest comparable existing venue is probably the long-established Magic Castle in Los Angeles, first opened in 1963. Tullman said that Chicago’s 36,000-square-foot The Hand & The Eye will be larger than that famous venue (by some 10,000 square feet) and will feature an interior design by David Rockwell, known for Broadway shows as much as his restaurant interiors. ‘People come to Chicago from Iowa and Indiana and they want to be amazed,’ Tullman said. ‘This will amaze them.’
“Although there are multiple stages and performance nooks, the plan for The Hand & The Eye is to be open seven nights a week and offer a single inclusive ticket that will move audiences through numerous performances and a dinner, with patrons making timed reservations and then traversing all the rooms in a bespoke fashion. The price point has not yet been set, but it is not likely to be cheap. Tullman, 65, described his intent to offer an upscale, all-adult experience with a dress code. ‘This will not be a jeans and sneakers kind of place,’ he said.
“The seven theaters inside the mansion will range from about 25 to 100 seats, Kaylor said, offering conditions for different levels of magic from tight close-up through more medium-range illusions. In a nod to Chicago’s long history of bartender magicians, bars will be set up as much for trickery as for cocktails. The operation will also feature live jazz and have a full-time music director and there will be a retail outlet for magic tricks that come with human instructions. Opening hours are projected to be from 5 p.m. until midnight. Tullman also said there would be an educational component, offering opportunities to young Chicago magicians from the city’s neighborhoods, as well as some weekend brunches and daytime performances opened up to a family audience.
“A tour revealed a historic building being gutted virtually to the studs, albeit with the preservation of the original grand staircase, fireplace and a few other elements. The historic exterior of the building, which dates to 1899, won’t be changed.
“L. Hamilton McCormick, the nephew of famed agriculturalist Cyrus McCormick, and his wife, Constance Plummer McCormick, commissioned a four-story Italian Renaissance home with bricks imported from Belgium (and wrapped in straw) on the corner of Ontario and Rush Street. At various points in its history, the house also housed a puppet theater and a members-only nightclub called the Continental Casino. A fourth-floor ballroom hosted as many as 400 guests including, on occasion, visiting royalty hosted by Mrs. McCormick. Rockwell’s new design will include a roof garden as part of the venue.” (Jones, Chicago Tribune, 5/16/25)
Preservation Chicago is thrilled with this plan. We have worked closely with the development team for over a year to optimize the historic building’s elements to add authenticity to the immersive experience. The McCormick Mansion / Kungsholm Puppet Opera / Lawry’s is an orange-rated building with a fascinating history. The Hand & The Eye is wonderfully creative and unique use to be located in a wonderful and unique building.
Read the full story at Chicago Tribune
- The Hand & The Eye will be a new, $50 million magic theater off Magnificent Mile, The McCormick Mansion, once Lawry’s Prime Rib, is to become an epic venue for dinner and magic, Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 5/16/25
- A massive $50M magic mansion for adults is opening near the Magnificent Mile, Jack Grieve, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/15/25
- Details Revealed For Magic-Based Experience On Michigan Avenue, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 5/19/25
- $50 Million, Adults-Only Magic Theater Coming To Former Lawry’s Prime Rib Downtown; The Hand & The Eye is slated for a spring 2026 opening. It will have 37 magic rooms, seven theaters, live jazz music and more, Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago, 5/16/25
- Chicago’s Miniature Puppet Opera, Annika Kohrt, Chicago History Museum, 4/26/24
- A Chicago Puppet Tradition Lives on at Opera in Focus; Brothers Justin and Shayne Snyder continue the city’s legendary puppet performances in Rolling Meadows, Edward McClelland, Chicago Magazine, 10/15/21