• Tannen's Magic

  24 West 25th Street, Second Floor, 212-929-4500

  When Todd Robbins, a regular performer at the “Monday Night Magic” series, wanted a dollar bill that he could tear and restore for his act, he went straight to Tannen’s. “And they had, like, 100 different versions!” he says. At this revered 72-year-old shop, rabbit-producing hats, flying carpets, and saw-a-woman-in-half boxes constitute what amounts to the largest and most up-to-date collection of tricks in the world. Ask the staff of ace magicians for a demo—they can make wallets catch fire or perform Houdini’s “Metamorphosis.” Better yet, join the crowd of underemployed young magicians who hang out on Saturdays riffling though cards like speed freaks and just waiting around for an audience. That’s how the magic world’s two big Davids (Blaine and Copperfield) got their starts.

From the 2003 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine