Here's some great news that I received over the Christmas break. The building that once housed Houdini's Film Developing Corporation and later his magic workshop is now a cafe called
Beni Coffee. The building had been private, but now anyone can visit the famous space and have a coffee at the same time! I'm super excited about this.
Click the headline or any of the images below to read a nice report by Susie Felber at the
Weehawken Gazette.
At the moment, Beni Coffee is only open on weekends. It's located at 216 19th St Union City, NJ 07087. Tell them Houdini sent you!
Thank you Susie Felber for the news.
Related:
John, I am wanting to open a book cafe someday and I’m fixed onto pursuing culinary arts, so if I ever work (hypothetically) there this’ll be great for a future resume! ☺️✨ This got me really excited! - Abby Martin
ReplyDeleteThey floated the idea of future movie nights. A perfect venue for Houdini film screenings!
ReplyDeleteFor years I tried to talk the Official Seance folks into doing a seance here. It was an empty and rentable space. But they never bit. It's a pretty large building and it looks like the cafe only occupies a small space. The room where Houdini took those famous workshop photos is in the back. It could now be their kitchen and storage. Hopefully it hasn't changed too much.
ReplyDeleteI see a stairway behind a wall. What was on the second floor when HH occupied the building? Didn't you visit this building before years ago? I can't remember.
DeleteI did! I don't know what was on the second floor in Houdini's day. Maybe offices. The lab and later workshop were all on the ground floor.
DeleteThanks! The heavy machinery and equipment all had to be on the first floor--definitely.
DeleteI live 45 minutes south from Union City. I’ll visit at some point this month and report back. Perry.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the news! I'm so glad I uncovered the history while there... only to find you'd already done the hard part. I produce live shows (comedy, storytelling, art) and I'd love to talk to anyone who might want to pitch a Houdini event. Fun fact: years ago I was the "celeb" guest at the CSI Superstition Bash in Buffalo, NY — I even got to take a sledge hammer to a mirror.
ReplyDelete