“”Glen Tullman made his fortune in the health care industry, especially from business ventures in the world of electronic prescriptions.
“‘Maybe you’ll just talk to the piano,’ he says with a wink, like a child with a fabulous new toy, ‘and it will play any song you ever imagined.’
“There are a lot of maybes involved in The Hand & The Eye, the 36,000-square-foot magic-themed entertainment and dining complex set to open this month inside the distinctively eccentric McCormick Mansion on the corner of Ontario and Rush streets alongside the struggling Magnificent Mile. The castle-like mansion is best remembered as the throwback home of Lawry’s the Prime Rib, which closed in 2020 after a 46-year run, but further back in the 20th century, it was also the home of The Kungsholm, a renowned Scandinavian smorgasbord with its own improbable puppet opera theater.
“Tullman, a magic geek since he was a boy, has just dropped some $50 million on a very upscale venture in this very mansion that, if it succeeds, will be the most substantial visitor-friendly addition to the Magnificent Mile area since before COVID, creating at least 200 new Chicago jobs and potentially lifting the midsection of Michigan Avenue out of its current economic malaise. It will be a far cry from escape rooms or tacky museums, will attract national media attention and could become one of the city’s signature attractions for the upscale visitor.
“There are no other investors in The Hand & The Eye. This is Tullman’s money, Tullman’s vision and thus Tullman’s risk.
“All are the design work of David Rockwell, arguably America’s leading theatrical and restaurant architect and designer.
“Nonetheless, ‘this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,’ Rockwell says from New York, ‘in that it tied together my two main interests in how people come together, which is performance and dining. It also came with a fascinating unicorn of a building with a monolithic facade that is both elegant and mysterious and entirely differentiated from every other building nearby. And as I think of all the things I have ever designed, this one has the largest amount of detail per square foot.’
“Rockwell says his designs for The Hand & The Eye were inspired in part by the artist Joseph Cornell’s famous boxes, cabinets of curiosities that functioned as intimate dioramas and theaters.
“The Hand & The Eye clearly is a passion project, the creation of a man who has made something of a fortune and now wants to spend a hefty portion of it on something he loves for a city he loves. (Rockwell has Chicago roots, too.) He emphasizes words like authenticity, connection, uniqueness. He sees his creation, clearly, in terms of his legacy and the reputation of the venue, within the famously close-knit and famously competitive world of magic, is of importance to him.
“‘Our aim,’ he says, ‘is not just to make this the best place to see magic in the world but the best place to perform it.’ With that in mind, there are many nods to the past on display, including one of Houdini’s famed milk cans.
“‘This is not just a place. We’re trying to create an experience and a feeling,” he says as he leads a tour of the almost completed, Gatsbyesque complex, a multifloor palace of velour and wood, historic trim, artworks and generously sized bars, some of which are also performance spaces. There is even a bespoke scent in certain rooms.
“The mansion’s historic staircase remains intact. So does an original fireplace. The balustrade was built in Highland Park in the 1920s. There is an outdoor patio and a basement vault. “This is a 100-year venture,” Tullman says of his palace of varieties.
“Small visual tricks are ubiquitous yet nothing here feels tacky. On the contrary, The Hand & The Eye is as upscale a venue as Chicago has, calling back to a more glamorous era of Mag Mile nightlife when you could tip, top, tap in hotel ballrooms in your finery. At least one of Tullman’s magicians, Nicholas Locapo, who has moved here from Columbus, Ohio, seemed very happy in that magician’s way. ‘I love this room,’ he says, as he presses a secret button in his table and manipulates cards for a visitor in one of the theaters. (Jones, Chicago Tribune, 4/7/26)
“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 The Hand & The Eye. The Hand & The Eye is wonderfully creative and unique use to be located in a wonderful and unique building. We have worked closely with Glen Tullman and the development team for a couple years 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 and an exciting next chapter!
Read the full story at Chicago Tribune
- Will The Hand & The Eye, Chicago’s new luxe mansion of magic, save the Magnificent Mile? Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 4/7/26
- Presto! In Chicago, a High-End Magic Palace Appears; The entrepreneur Glen Tullman is betting people want to dress up and watch magicians in a luxury setting. Either it will work or $50 million will go poof, David Segal, The New York Times, 4/7/26
- The Hand & The Eye, A 5-Level Magic Theater, To Open This Month Off Mag Mile; The venue, opening April 18 in the renovated McCormick Mansion, has 37 showrooms, hidden rooms and dining options, Melody Mercado, block Club Chicago, 4/8/26
- Inside Chicago’s $50M magic mansion: ‘The Hand & The Eye’ opens April 18, Justine Baker, FOX News 32 Chicago, 4/7/26
- Editorial: Michigan Avenue imagines a sweet, magical future, The Hand and the Eye and the Candy Hall of Fame are good news for Michigan Avenue, The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, 4/12/26