Magic Shop Near Me in Midtown: Tannen's, New York's Oldest Since 1925

Type magic shop near me anywhere around Herald Square and the answer is hiding six floors above the sidewalk. Tannen's Magic sits in Suite 608 at 45 West 34th Street, an office building between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and it has been selling tricks to New Yorkers since 1925. There is no street-level window full of top hats. You walk into a plain lobby, ride an elevator and follow a narrow hallway to a door that opens onto a room built for people who want to learn sleight of hand properly.

Getting there is easy because the shop is a short block from the 34 St–Herald Square station, where the B, D, F, M, N, Q, R and W trains stop. Come up on the north side of 34th Street, walk east past the Sixth Avenue corner, and look for number 45. Penn Station is a ten-minute walk west if you are arriving on the LIRR, NJ Transit or Amtrak. Once inside the building, take the elevator to the sixth floor and turn toward Suite 608.

What sets Tannen's apart from a costume store with a trick aisle is depth. The shop's own description of the space mentions sprawling bookshelves, colorful boxes and hundreds of drawers with mysterious labels, and the stock leans toward working performers: gimmicked coins, mentalism tools, stage illusions and an unusually serious magic book section. The person behind the counter is usually a magician, and asking to see an effect performed before you buy is part of the culture here rather than an awkward request.

Close-up props make up a big share of the counter. Pen Through Coin by Michael Ammar lists at $39.95 and lets you push a borrowed pen straight through a coin, then hand both out for inspection. Tarantula II, a reel-style gimmick that makes small objects float and crawl, sells for $75. If you want a single piece that reads as genuine mind reading, the Mental Die in black is $149.95, a die in a box whose hidden face the performer can announce without peeking.

Card magic remains the shop's backbone, and a few decks do most of the work for beginners and pros alike. The Snow Deck is $39.95 and sits near the register with the other specialty decks that staff like to demonstrate first. Classic parlor pieces sit nearby too: the Parlor Rising Card at $295 is a bigger investment, a cased effect where a chosen card climbs out of the deck on its own, sized to be seen from across a living room rather than across a bar napkin.

Study material is a big reason working magicians keep coming back. The October 2026 issue of Genii, the long-running magic magazine, is on the shelf for $12.99. Recorded lectures are sold as well; the Mario Lopez Lecture is listed at $30, a practical way to learn routines from a performer known for clever card work. Many regulars treat the shop like a reference library, flipping through books before deciding which method to commit to their hands.

Timing matters because this is a small room. Tannen's is open Monday through Friday from 11am to 6pm and Saturday from 10am to 4pm, and it is closed on Sundays. Weekday mornings right after opening are the quietest, which gives you the counter staff's full attention for demonstrations. Saturday afternoons draw kids with their parents and hobbyists comparing decks, so if you want a long conversation about a specific sleight, a Tuesday or Wednesday visit works better.

There is no reservation system for shopping, but there is a way to skip the trip entirely. The shop runs a free Virtual Personal Shopper service, a one-on-one video call where a staff member walks you through tricks and books and performs them on camera. It is useful if you are buying a gift for a young magician and have no idea what a Svengali deck is, or if you want to see a prop in action before coming in to pick it up.

For an evening out, Tannen's hosts Magic After Hours inside the shop itself. According to the official show page, the performance runs 70 minutes with no intermission, starts promptly at 8pm, and is for guests aged 16 and up. The door is unlocked only 15 minutes before showtime, so arriving late means missing the start in a space where every seat is within arm's reach of the performer. Tickets are sold online in advance through the shop's site.

The atmosphere is closer to a workshop than a boutique. Decks are stacked under glass, older props share space with new releases, and the bookshelves pull you in before you have even reached the counter. Much of the room is taken up by those drawers and boxes, so it feels crowded in a good way. Nobody minds if you linger and read, as long as you leave room at the counter for the next person waiting to see a demo.

The history explains why so many famous names passed through. Louis Tannen started in 1925 with a stand in Flatbush, Brooklyn, before opening a Manhattan store. The business was later bought by Tony Spina, sat for years in the Wurlitzer Building at 120 West 42nd Street, and moved to Suite 608 in 2004. Adam Blumenthal is the current owner. Tannen's Magic Camp has run since 1974, and its alumni include David Blaine and Michael Carbonaro.

After shopping, Herald Square puts two landmarks within a few minutes' walk. The Empire State Building is at 20 West 34th Street, just east toward Fifth Avenue, and evening observatory visits pair nicely with a Magic After Hours night. Head west instead and Macy's Herald Square fills the block at 151 West 34th Street. The plaza at Broadway and Sixth Avenue has public seating if you want to practice a new pass before getting back on the subway.

A few practical notes help. The shop sits inside a commercial building, so expect a lobby and an elevator rather than a door on the sidewalk. Bring patience if you come on a Saturday, keep bags close in the narrow hallway, and plan Sunday errands elsewhere because the shop is closed. Staff are generous with demos, so ask questions.

Tannen's suits a wide range of visitors. Parents shopping for a curious ten-year-old will get honest advice about which trick a child can actually perform. Hobbyists will find serious books and gimmicks they cannot handle in a big-box store. Working performers come for restocks and gossip. Anyone visiting Midtown with an hour to spare can ride the elevator, watch a card vanish and leave with a deck and a new respect for practice.