The co-founder of the Magic Castle, Milt Larsen, has announced a second location of the private club will be opening in 2017. The second club will be smaller, only about a fifth the size of the original, and more of a vacation outpost, for the many magicians who split their time between L.A. and Santa Barbara (apparently that’s quite a thing).
This new Magic Castle will overlook a placid lake and the Andree Clark Bird Refuge nature preserve. The property, purchased in 2016 for $2.35 million, is currently being retrofitted to include more castle-like features and a 50-seat theater.
“I’m gonna make it look like a castle with a lot of stained glass and woodwork,” Larsen told Los Angeles Magazine about the build-out. “It will strictly be devoted to close-up magic and variety arts.”
If you’re not one of the 5,000 members of the Academy of Magical Arts, it may be even harder to get into the new Magic Castle than the original Hollywood location. At the existing castle, guests of the adjoining hotel and restaurant are able to gain entry to the Magic Castle’s nightclub and theater, but the Santa Barbara location won’t have those public establishments.
In other words, it sounds like, if you’re planning to add a visit to the Magic Castle to your Santa Barbara getaway plans, it might be time to start brushing up on your card tricks.
The Magic Castle will be located at 30 Los Patos Way in Santa Barbra. It is expected to open in October, 2017.
Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.