CALIFORNIA MAGIC CLUB
Approaching the facade of California Magic Club in downtown Martinez, California will spark one’s inner desire for a good mystery.
Here, in the heart of a city carrying its own history, you’ll find a magical entertainment venue, one of the most unique night spots around. California Magic Club brings back to life the rich history of magic, one of the oldest performing arts. Just as you arrive, you will be welcomed by festive music from bygone eras. Stepping across the threshold takes you into another time; from greeters in gowns or tuxedos to the seats focused on the parlor stage, guests enjoy the care (and the fun) curated by the California Magic family of magicians and staff.
Gerry Griffin, the owner of California Magic Club, notes that he didn’t start here. Having been enthralled by the performing art of magic as a child, Gerry has dedicated his life to the craft.
“There’s something truly beautiful about seeing the impossible, and when you see the impossible presented up close by a gentleman with a twinkle in his eye and a smile in his voice, that’s captivating.”
CALIFORNIA MAGIC CLUB History by Gerry Griffin
I am often asked, “what inspired you to open the California Magic Club (Dinner Theater).” This story from years ago, tells the tale of my inspiration… this tale takes place in the latter half of the 1970’s.
I had a unique place to frequent when I was younger and new to magic. Some magicians had the Magic Castle in Hollywood. I grew up in the SF Bay area, so I went to the Magic Cellar nightclub and spent many an evening there.
Let me tell you about my evenings at the Magic Cellar nightclub. It was located at 630 Clay Street in San Francisco. “Earthquake McGoon’s” was the name of a famous jazz nightclub situated at that address, and there, in the basement, was housed the collection of Carter the Great, the world-renowned magician.
A Little History First…
The story I am about to tell you is as amazing as the Magic Cellar was itself. Back in the 1950s, two brothers, Peter and Cedric Clute, had purchased some old cars and had them stored in a building where they were planning to fix them up. During this time, the building owner told them they needed to move the cars out as soon as possible. While the brothers hastily prepared to remove the vehicles, they accidentally broke through one of the walls; it was a false wall, and on the other side, they discovered packing trunks. In these trunks was the collection of the great magician Charles Carter, known to the world as Carter the Great. In all, there were approximately 20 tons of memorabilia.
There were apparatus, posters, costumes, and large illusions that Carter had used as he traveled the world performing.
The Clute brothers purchased this collection of memorabilia from the building’s owner. Our story continues, and the plot thickens. Turk Murphy was the leader of his own famous jazz band, and he had a nightclub that opened around 1963. This nightclub was called “Earthquake McGoon’s.” The nightclub was located at street level at 630 Clay St. in San Francisco, and Carter the Great’s collection of magic was moved to and stored in the basement of the building, which was quite large.
Peter Clute was the piano player with Turk Murphy in his jazz band. Cedric Clute, Peter’s brother, decided it was time to do something with Carter the Great’s magic collection. His collection was displayed, the stage was built, and the Magic Cellar nightclub was born in the basement of “Earthquake McGoon’s” nightclub in 1970.
Now the location at 630 Clay St., in San Francisco is just one block from the Transamerica Pyramid building and one block approximately from Chinatown. This was the old location of the William Tell Hotel, an old three-story building. Located around the back of the building on Merchant Street was a very famous posh restaurant, at the time, The Blue Fox. I always wanted to go there but have yet to make it. Now, Alfred’s Steakhouse is in the building where the Blue Fox once was located.
I First Heard of the Magic Cellar in 1975…
That’s the year I graduated high school and went there for the first time in the fall of that same year. Of course, the Magic Cellar had its own little entrance, a window marquee just to the left of the door, and a little awning above the door that said “Magic Cellar Saloon” on it. When you entered the doorway, you descended a staircase; on the wall just above you was a large poster framed by the magician Carter the Great. The staircase turned to the left, and you were in the Magic Cellar. A little desk was there to the left where you paid to get in and an old Wurlitzer Jukebox to the right playing old songs from the roaring ’20s, and a little further just ahead was the bar. If you were standing looking at the bar and then turned around, you would be looking at the nightclub theater itself.
Surrounding the walls were memorabilia of magicians… Thurston, Blackstone Junior, Harry Houdini, and many more, but mostly the collection of Carter the Great. There was a “Sawing in half” illusion, and near it was the “Million-dollar Mystery,” as presented by Howard Thurston in his big show. A little further ahead was the “close-up magic” table, just to the left of the stage. If you continued past the little stage, there was a spirit cabinet, the kind used by the Davenport Brothers. Next to that was the large “Iron Maiden” illusion. I remember there being a poster of Nicola, the magician performing the Iron Maiden illusion (a young lady is placed in the cabinet, and big iron spikes drive through her, only for her to exit the cabinet unharmed, only moments later). Several display cases surrounding the walls with smaller magic props in them and on the walls very large full-color lithograph posters, theatrical playbills you might call them, some as large as 9 feet tall and 9 feet wide.
In the center of the room were small tables and chairs facing the stage. Behind them, stacks of packing trunks, still unopened and filled with treasures. When you arrived for the evening, these tables are where you would sit, grabbing a chair at one of the little tables getting ready for an evening of delightful miracles. The first time I went to the Magic Cellar, I remember seeing magicians Matt Corin perform at the close-up table and on stage magician Martin Lewis. Martin Lewis performed great magic; I remember him finishing off with the Chinese Ring Mystery, or as it is more commonly known, The Linking Rings.
Remembering Magicians…
During the years that I visited the Magic cellar, the magician in residence was a gentleman named Arthur Murata (I think I spelled his name correctly). Arthur did a lot of card magic, which was right up my alley. I can remember seeing him many times. Let me see if I can remember the magicians that I saw perform at the Magic cellar… Arthur Murata, Matt Corin, Vic Kirk, Harry Anderson, Tony Slydini, David Roth, Rich Marotta, Prof. Lee, Tom Ogden, Danny Korem, Paul Svengari, Nahmen Nissen, Daryl Easton, Al Goshman and quite a few more I wish I could remember.
Tony Slydini, I was able to see two times. Each time he came to town, he did a magic lecture on Saturday afternoon at the Cellar. And, of course, that evening, he performed two shows, both close-up magic and his stage magic. I was even lucky enough to be chosen to sit in a chair on stage and be part of his famous flight of the paper balls. It was absolutely wonderful! I went to the Magic cellar pretty much every weekend, sometimes Friday and Saturday nights, both on any given weekend. Driving there from Antioch, where I lived, was a bit of a longer trip in those days, but it was worth the trip every time.
One of my all-time favorites was magician Vic Kirk. I saw him perform both close-up magic and stage magic many times at the Magic Cellar. On a side note, I got to know Vic Kirk very well over the years, and he became a very close friend. In 1977, on April Fools’ Day, I opened my first magic store in Antioch, California, then in 1980, I moved my magic store to Pleasant Hill, California. The Magic Cellar had closed around the end of 1977, so I had not seen him for a number of years. But then, in about 1981, into my magic store walks Vic. We hit it off right away, especially because of our fond memories of the Magic cellar and days back when. I must say, in all my years doing magic and being around magicians, I learned the most from my good friend Vic Kirk. But I’ve gone off on a tangent.
What It Was Like at The Magic Cellar
An evening at the Magic Cellar would go about like this… You arrived at about 7 PM, and the close-up magic show would only be performed once. You didn’t want to miss it. We would gather our chairs and surround the little table where close-up magic would be performed. We sat in eager anticipation, waiting for the magician scheduled for that evening. The bartender would step over to the table, turn on the light above the table, and introduce our performer and the close-up magic began. That performance was probably about 20 minutes long; I never kept track of the time. After that, we would move our chairs back into the center of the room and get ready for the show on stage. Of course, it was time to buy drinks, and the cocktail waitress would be around to visit.
Now, I was only 18 years old, so my big drink for the evening was a cherry coke (excellent). There were two shows on stage, one about 8:30 PM and another about 10:30, and of course, I would stay all night, so sometimes we would see the same performer do the same show twice. Now I remember my friend Vic Kirk telling me about performing at the Magic Cellar for the first time. When he came out to do the second show of the evening, he saw many of the same faces in the audience that had been there for the first show. He was doing the same show for much of the same audience twice. He quickly realized he needed an entirely different show for the second performance, and he was one of the few performers who always did a different second show; that was wonderful. I must say. Naturally, I didn’t mind seeing the same show twice, at least for me; being interested in magic as a hobby, I could watch it repeatedly and loved every moment of it.
Well, as our evening at the Magic Cellar would continue, sometimes on stage, there would be two performers, which was even better; one of the stage performers might perform at the close-up table and then, of course, be on stage. The rest of the evening was spent visiting with my magic buddies at the time and waiting with bated breath to see who in the world of magic might just happen to show up that evening.
These were some extraordinary times for me in those early years of magic and my inspiration as it would become for the California Magic Club, dinner theater, and magic shop.
California Magic Club is located in the historic downtown district of Martinez—
the county seat of Contra Costa, the birthplace of the Martini, and the home of Naturalist John Muir. Martinez is approximately 25 miles east of San Francisco and 59 miles southwest of Sacramento.
514 Main Street, Martinez, CA. Call 925.374.0056. Open Friday & Saturday, Doors at 7:30 PM Sharp. For more information: https://www.calmagic.com/
Read about Carter the Great’s San Francisco Houdini mystery, Hollywood’s Magic Theatre, and illusionist Kar-Mi in J.Macon King’s creative non-fiction novel CIRCUS OF THE SUN.
Available from Amazon
In the wake of his girlfriend leaving him, young musician Jack has sworn off women, yet the reforming bad boy cannot resist the incandescent, liberated artist Bretta and her creative entourage. The pair sense they have found their Masterpiece of Love—until the return of Bretta’s enigmatic friend unveils disturbing secrets.
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Carter’s home in San Francisco was rented by the Sumitomo Bank of California in the 1980s-90s and used as a residence for the Bank’s President. Carter used to put on shows in the basement and you can still see occult references in the stained glass windows. The house is in the Seacliff District of San Francisco near the Pacific Ocean. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the “Houdini Mansion”. It is now used as a foreign consulate. Wikipedia entry.
Last checked it was Korean.