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The House of Houdini

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The House of Houdini
The House of Houdini
Location11, Dísz Square, Budapest
FounderDavid Merlini
Built1500
Architectural style(s)neobaroque
The House of Houdini is located in Hungary
The House of Houdini
Location of The House of Houdini in Hungary

The House of Houdini is a museum and performance venue located at 11, Dísz Square, within the walls of the Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. The museum houses the only collection of original Houdini artifacts in Europe.[1][2][3]

History

The museum's collection includes original Houdini memorabilia: e.g., handcuffs, personal correspondence, and "precious artifacts." A Bible once owned by Houdini is part of the collection.[4][2][5][6] It also includes original props from the Houdini film – Oxygen (1999), which featured Adrien Brody, an Oscar winner, and the later miniseries.[7][1] The facility opened on June 16, 2016.[7][8]

Budapest was selected as the location of the museum as Houdini was born in the city.[2]

The museum is the product of David Merlini, an escapologist who served as technical advisor on the Houdini miniseries.[A] Its artifacts were previewed at Budapest's National Széchényi Library. This followed an earlier exhibition in Milan, Italy.[10]

The venue is also a center for research into Houdini's life, highlighting his Hungarian origin.[2][3][11][4] and Jewish.[2] Notwithstanding his Hungarian birth, Houdini never performed in Hungary.[5]

Six magicians rotate performance in the museum's small theater.[3]

Admission

As of September, admission is 2,400 forints for adults and 1,350 forints for children under age 11. English, Italian and Hungarian language guided tours are available.[12] Visitor entrance can only be gained through decoding a secret "arcane" message; if the visitor fails to solve it, they refund the price of admission.

Awards

The House of Houdini has been jointly recognized as a world magic heritage institution by the National President of the Society of American Magicians and the International President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.[13]

Name

This "house" should not be confused with the "House of Houdini" which was a former Houdini home, purchased in 1908, at 278 West 113th Street, Harlem, now called Morningside Heights, New York City that also displays artifacts.[14][15][16]

Likewise, in 1919 he rented the cottage at 2435 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Los Angeles, while making movies for Lasky Pictures. His wife occupied it for a time after his death. As of 2011 the site of the cottage was a vacant lot and up for sale.[15] The main mansion building itself was rebuilt after it was destroyed in the 1959 Laurel Canyon fire, and is now a historic venue called The Mansion.[17] While Houdini did not likely live at the "mansion," there is some probability that his widow did.[18]

Acquisition rumors

News reports in the preceding months had raised the suspiction that the majority stake of Museum and its assets were to be purchased by Centurion, a US based capital fund for $18.6M. The offer was reportedly turned down by the owner David Merlini.[19]

Other Houdini museums

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ [9]

Citations

  1. ^ a b "House of Houdini Official website". The House of Houdini. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Zalman, Jonathon (December 9, 2016). "The Scroll: Museum Dedicated to Harry Houdini Opens in Budapest". Tablet. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Fenyo, Krisztina; Than, Krisztina; Williams, Alison (Editor); Szabo, Bernadette (Photographer) (December 20, 2016). "Budapest museum lifts lid on Houdini's magic, Hungarian roots". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved January 23, 2016. {{cite news}}: |first3= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b c Compeer (December 13, 2016). "House of Houdini Opens in Hungary". The Magic Compass. Society of American Magicians. Retrieved January 23, 2017. It's true, the American illusionist was Hungarian, born in Budapest in 1874, the son of a rabbi and part of a large family with seven children.
  5. ^ a b "Legendary 'handcuff king' Houdini's secrets unlocked in Hungary". Malay Mail. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Cox, John (December 4, 2016). "The Ehrich Weiss Bible is in The House Wild About Harry". Wild About Harry. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Cox, John (June 16, 2016). "The House of Houdini opens today in Budapest". Wild About Harry. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  8. ^ Walker, Jennifer (August 26, 2016). "Inside the Budapest Escape Room That Started the Worldwide Craze: Why Hungarians are so good at puzzles—from Houdini and Rubik's Cubes to escape rooms". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  9. ^ "Meet Houdini's technical advisor: David Merlini". October 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  10. ^ Cox, John (October 3, 2015). "Houdini in Milano, October 22–29". Wild About Harry. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  11. ^ Murphy, Peter (December 8, 2016). "'Handcuff king' Houdini's secrets unlocked in Hungary". France24. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017. Set high in the capital's lofty Castle district, the House of Houdini lifts the veil on the box of tricks used by the famous magician, who lived most of his life in the United States.
  12. ^ Berende, Petra (July 19, 2016). "Culture and Museums: Budapest's new House of Houdini honors the famous Magyar magician". We love Budapest. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  13. ^ name="Presidential Citation">{{cite web |url=http://www.magic-compass.com/house-houdini-opens-hungary/
  14. ^ Cox, John (January 17, 2011). "Discovering 278: the home of Houdini". Wild About Harry. Retrieved January 22, 2017. ... I certainly knew the famous address -- "278" which is how Houdini always referred to his Harlem home.
  15. ^ a b "Houdini's Homes: Houdini owned homes in New York and California". magictricks.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  16. ^ Cox, John (June 25, 2017). "Inside Houdini's 278". wildabouthoudini.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  17. ^ "Welcome to the Houdini Estate". The Houdini Estate. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  18. ^ Cox, John (March 30, 2012). "Inside the Laurel Canyon Houdini Estate". Wild About Harry. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  19. ^ Mueller, Rosie (25 August 2020). "Houdini's magic worth more than 18.6M". New York: WFMJ.com. Pacific West. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
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