Houdini Museum - History

History

The Houdini Museum was created by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks (aka John Bravo and Ray Carter) as a tribute to magic's greatest legend. In part the exhibit includes collectibles from both her and his collection as well as artifacts given to Mr. Brooks by his father, who actually saw Houdini perform. Parts of the collection were on display at their show spot in New York City, The Magic Towne House for 15 years, from the 1970s to the 1980s, when they moved it to Scranton, PA. Also on display for many years at the New York location was the Society of American Magicians replica of Houdini's bust at Houdini's grave site and a large oil painting portrait of the magician, two items that the Society could not store. They were in the museum for safe keeping. On September 27, 2011 The Houdini Museum along with "Houdini Commandos" Dorothy Dietrich, Dick Brooks and Steve Moore replaced the statuary Houdini bust that was missing at the grave for 36 years with the permission of the administration of the cemetery and Houdini family members. This project was fully funded by the not for profit Houdini Museum at a cost of about $10,000. The Society of American Magicians no longer cares for the site. That currently is done by Scranton's Houdini Museum and the administrators of the cemetery with the help of volunteers and donors.