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Why is the Magic Island building still standing?

4,521 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by NoahAg
Stan Crowch
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12:06p, 1/8/15
Is there a good reason for this?
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AggieT
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12:30p, 1/8/15
I've always wondered. How long has that been closed?
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Furlock Bones
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In reply to Stan Crowch • 12:32p, 1/8/15
quote:
Is there a good reason for this?

i'm guessing the land is for sale and the price hasn't been met.
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Jugstore Cowboy
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12:49p, 1/8/15
It's just so damned beautiful.
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jetch17
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12:56p, 1/8/15
if they demolished the Las Alamedas pink monstrosity, they should tear down the Island

...and the Astrodome.
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Furlock Bones
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In reply to jetch17 • 12:58p, 1/8/15
quote:
if they demolished the Las Alamedas pink monstrosity, they should tear down the Island

...and the Astrodome.
yup, **** emmett.
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hurst03
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1:00p, 1/8/15
Did they tear down the old Las Alamedas?
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Furlock Bones
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In reply to hurst03 • 1:08p, 1/8/15
quote:
Did they tear down the old Las Alamedas?
yep. started this week.
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MAROON
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1:46p, 1/8/15
still cant believe the landlord pulled the plug on that place (unless they were not paying rent on time - which I don't know for sure). That was a fun place to go have happy hour back in the day.

A major screw-up considering he never got another tenant.
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Biz Ag
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In reply to Stan Crowch • 1:51p, 1/8/15
FBO graffiti artists.
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Biz Ag
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1:52p, 1/8/15
quote:
if they demolished the Las Alamedas pink monstrosity, they should tear down the Island

...and the Astrodome.

Commissioner Emmett, tear down this Dome!
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Jugstore Cowboy
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In reply to MAROON • 1:59p, 1/8/15
Yeah, I was sorry to see that happy hour end.

Curious to see what finally takes its place.
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ChipFTAC01
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2:07p, 2/11/15
Stumbled across this. Guy is actually still trying to reopen it.
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Mega Lops
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2:02p, 5/4/18
3 years later... Still trying to reopen it.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Magic-Island-one-of-Houston-s-most-peculiar-12885584.php?ipid=hpctp#photo-7856396

Quote:
Houstonians who have driven by Magic Island off of the Southwest Freeway as of late may have noticed some activity going on in the parking lot adjacent to the Egyptian-themed entertainment venue.
On Thursday, Chron.com visited the site at 2215 Southwest Freeway and spoke with two people who are working with the owner to restore it to its former glory.

First opened in 1983, Magic Island was a destination dining experience featuring magic shows, music, dining and drinking. The pharaoh's head on the top of the building is one of the most recognized pieces of architecture in Houston, and its old world construction always turns heads.

Manny Fahid and his assistant, Sue Smith, are working for the building's owner, Mohammad Athari, an area neurologist, to somehow renovate the building and turn it back into a Houston nightlife destination. Photos in the Houston Chronicle archives show it to be an ornate yet tongue-in-cheek haunt covered in Egyptian artifacts. It started out as a private club before going public.

Proposed architectural renderings of what the two-story, 22,000-square-foot property could look like in the future reside on a table at a doctor's office next door. The plan is to have it back in operation by late 2018.
Interesting photo galleries from 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/meltedplastic/sets/72157668069139375
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2:24p, 5/4/18
FTACO97
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2:53p, 5/4/18
I remember the wife and I went a couple times when we were dating in the mid to late 90's. Was a pretty neat place at the time for seeing up close magic acts. It's a shame to see the photos in a previous post. Agree that the cost to open it back up would be massive.
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P.H. Dexippus
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3:02p, 5/4/18
Celebrated my 19th birthday there. I appreciated my folks treating us, but man if it wasn't hokey and way overpriced.
The story isn't that [DeSantis] "couldn't win" the primary. The story is that an overwhelming majority of our population is heinously stupid. 50% of them vote for communists. 75% of the remaining 50% vote for Trump, who cant win. When the majority of the opposition party insists on voting for an opposition candidate who can't win, you get exactly the government you deserve. - Well Endowed Ag
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schmendeler
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3:31p, 5/4/18
lets say this is restored to its former glory. will it surpass the aquarium and ferris wheel for power to flood basements?
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Ag_07
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3:31p, 5/4/18
It's designated a historical landmark.

Fckin Ed Emmett won't tear anything down.
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drumboy
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4:03p, 5/4/18
Took a couple honeys there before prom in the late 90s. Magic Worked.
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Ghost91
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6:28p, 5/4/18
That place was badass in the mid-80's. Went to a party there one time and had a fortune teller tell me that in a prior life I had been an Indian (feather, not dot) who negotiated peace treaties with whitey.
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jetch17
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6:42p, 5/4/18
Pretty neat crack den pics in that gallery ... I bet there were some illusions being turned in there for years following closure
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RK
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7:50p, 5/4/18
She turns illusions for money!
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Milwaukees Best Light
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In reply to schmendeler • 10:11p, 5/4/18
schmendeler said:
lets say this is restored to its former glory. will it surpass the aquarium and ferris wheel for power to flood basements?
Will the stupid Crazy Horse mountain ever surpass Mount Rushmore?
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schmendeler
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In reply to Milwaukees Best Light • 10:25p, 5/4/18
Milwaukees Best Light said:
schmendeler said:
lets say this is restored to its former glory. will it surpass the aquarium and ferris wheel for power to flood basements?
Will the stupid Crazy Horse mountain ever surpass Mount Rushmore?


When it's finished? For sure. That thing will be badass.
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NoahAg
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11:06a, 5/7/18
I've lived in the area since '04, and I never knew what that place was. I just assumed it was a strip club, lol.
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