Ema Brazdeikyte –
A short walk north of King Street East stands a very peculiar building. At 60 Sumach Street, a 50-foot mural of mediums, kings, and a wizard holding a crystal ball sprawls across the corner of the building from top to bottom.
Two sculptures guard the front entrance – not quite gargoyles, more like scowling, stern men, but still menacing. Another sculpture, of a witch’s head crowned with a tall, pointed hat with a wide brim watches passersby from above a sign that reads, “THE MAGIC BUILDING.”
Despite its striking exterior, the building is quiet and unassuming. No magicians are outside waiting for someone to pick a card, and no colourful potions explode in front of the many windows.
I don’t think I noticed it the first time I passed it. Now, I make a point of walking past it on the same side of the street, eyeing the witch sculpture as though to see whether her head will turn as I pass.
A thorough search online reveals that only a few records indicate that people even know this place exists, and the few people that have seen it are full of questions.
Based on the little information found online, it was originally built around the 1920s and served as an industrial warehouse during the area’s manufacturing expansion near the Lake Ontario docks. Along the way, it transformed into The Magic Building.
Today, the building houses small independent businesses and a coworking social space.
Eliczer Elliot, a visual artist who helped shape Toronto’s street art scene, is behind the magical mural adorning the building, painted between 2010 and 2012.
Did the mural inspire someone to transform it into The Magic Building, or vice versa? Which came first? Reaching out to Elliot garnered no response. The mystery remains.
I watch as people walk by in a rush, yet they make sure to glance at the weird and wonderful artwork beside them. The glances slowly turn into a longer, lingering look. The Magic Building, a quiet staple in Corktown, is a reminder that magic is all around, if we take the time to look and embrace it.
Perhaps Toronto may never know of its secrets. But a magician never reveals them.
1 Comment
I suspect that the details of the Magic Building are lost to the fog of time. A prior owner or tenant of the building had something to do with the entertainment industry? or something similar? Or maybe it’s only because Elicser Elliot painted the wizard. That’s all that I can think of.