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Building History

Banker and lawyer Rollin Benjamin Lane (born 05/28/1854 in Oshkosh, WI-d. 08/23/1940 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA) commissioned this large residence for his own use in the late 1900s. Before this, between 1900 and c. 1905, Lane resided at 361 West Crescent Street in Redlands, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; San Bernardino County Great Register of Voters, 1900-1910, accessed 09/25/2023.) While living in Redlands, Lane would have seen the Cornelia A. Hill House, (1897), later purchased by tissue magnate John Alfred Kimberly (1838-1928) in 1905. Kimberly and his family wintered in Redlands, spending the rest of their time in the Fox River Valley of WI. A member of the Kimberly Family occupied the Redlands house until 1979. Lane likely knew Kimberly through business and finance circles. In addition, both men were born and raised in towns 13 miles apart from each other along Lake Winnebago's western shore, Neenah, WI, for Kimberly and Oshkosh, WI, for Lane.

Lane evidently remembered the Hill/Kimberly Mansion and tracked down its architects Dennis and Farwell, to design for him a residence strongly reminiscent of the Redlands model. The Lane House was expected to cost approximately $11,000 in 03/1909. Dennis and Farwell patterned it on a French chateau, according to a contemporary newspaper report.

William W. Larsen, Sr., (d. 1953) stimulated a love for magic in his wife Gerrie Larsen and their two sons WIlliam Larsen, Jr., and Milton Larsen. His legal business partner, T. Page Wright, also was an aficionado, and the pair wrote articles for the magic journal, Sphinx Magazine, at the end of the 1920s. In 1936, William and Gerrie Larsen established their magazine, Genii, the Conjurer's Magazine, that has continued to the present. Larsen also created The Thayer Studio of Magic in Los Angeles by the early 1940s. The elder Larsen died in 1953, and his sons continued publishing Genii but also had plans to develop a more permanent building to house magic performances and to house memorabilia.

According to the website of the Academy of Magical Arts, plans for obtaining and rehabilitating this new building advanced during the 1961 to 1963 period: "In 1961 Bill Larsen’s younger son, Milt, was a writer for Bob Barker’s Truth or Consequences TV show on NBC. Ralph Edwards Productions had the top three floors of the high-rise office building that was then at the corner of Hollywood and Highland. Milt’s office window overlooked the residential property on Franklin Avenue that included a grand old mansion left over from the turn of the century, built in 1908 by banker Rollin B. Lane and later sold to land developer Thomas O. Glover. Milt was fascinated by the building and daydreamed about the idea of turning it into some sort of clubhouse for magicians. One day he met the owner and convinced him that his idea had merit. Milt’s grandfather was a master carpenter, and Milt inherited his love for woodworking. The rundown old mansion was a huge challenge, and he and partner Don Gotschall started working on the physical plant now known as The Magic Castle." (SeeThe Academy of Magical Arts.com, "Academy History," accessed 09/25/2023.) The new Academy of Magical Arts opened in the former Lane Mansion on 01/02/1963.

Building Notes

The Kimberly House and the Lane House were actually amalgams of French Chateauesque and Queen Anne style influences.

Alteration

The Magic Castle has been altered and expanded several times to include exhibition space, a bar, a theatre, and other spaces.

A fire broke out in the Magic Castle on 10/31/2011, requiring significant renovation. It opened by 02/2012.