Houdini in Washington D.C.

 

On January 12, 1922, Houdini hung upside down outside of Keith’s Vaudeville Theatre on 15th Street in Washington D.C (first photo). The theatre was torn down in the early 80’s I believe. But if you go to the Old Ebbitt Grill which is on the corner of 15th and G St. you can actually sit in an area that used to be where the seats of the theatre were. And actually, when you walk into the Old Ebbitt Grill, you are walking through the front doors of the Keith's Vaudeville Theatre!

I went down there a few years ago and took some photos of the area. I had a most unusual sensation. I had this memory kick in of seeing the theatre. I knew it couldn’t be true, but somehow in some far corner of my mind I had this very vidid memory pop up of the theatre. I could see the red marquee with all the lights and everything. In the real world I was sure the theatre was over where the columns of the building were because that area was newer than the rest of the building. Then when I found the two pictures above my jaw dropped. The marquee is EXACTLY where my memory told me it was. And I just found a color photo and indeed this is exactly as I remember it.

I'm pretty sure the reason I had a memory of this building is because I had driven past it many times on either field trips during school or with my parents when they were taking me downtown to Al's Magic Shop when I was a kid.

1922 Atlantic City Houdini & Conan Doyle

This is a picture of the Ambassador Hotel. This is the location of the meeting and seance between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his wife and Harry Houdini. It was considerably easier to find than I thought. Apparently the folks in AC still remember this historic meeting.

The Ambassador Hotel was torn down but today the Tropicana Hotel and Casino stands on the very spot where Houdini and Doyle had their seance. It was also the final straw for Houdini who completely turned on Spiritualism after this and set about exposing the frauds and fakes. It ended his friendship with the Doyles as well.

Salem Theatre

The photo above is a lobby display in front of the old Salem Theatre in Salem Mass. It's around 1905 or 1906 I think. Anyway, a few years ago I was in Beverly Mass visiting my friends at the Le Grand David Magic Show and took sometime to go sight seeing. Turns out Salem is pretty darn close to Beverly. I had a really enjoyable time visiting the Witch Sites, Nathaniel Hawthorne's House and walking downtown.

It was while I was walking downtown that the above image flashed in my head. I hadn't been searching for it and it wasn't on my mind prior but suddenly it was there in my brain. I started looking for the theatre. I just had this odd sense it was close. I didn't ask anyone though. And I didn't find it.

Well, not exactly. You see, when I got back to my hotel I looked it up online. Turns out I parked right at the location where the Salem Theatre had been!  But it was torn down long ago sadly. I wish Harry had performed in Beverly, as both of those theatres still stand. In fact, both of those theatres, The Larcom and The Cabot are both dedicated to the art of magic!

If you're in that area of Mass. I would encourage you to visit the site www.LeGrandDavid.com
I think in the future I'll share some photos of Houdini spots that I've found over the years.