Harry Houdini's UES Childhood Home Dedicated With Plaque

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Neighborhood magicians and Upper East Side officials gathered at the one-time home of Harry Houdini on Halloween night to dedicate a plaque in honor of the famed escape artist and attempt to contact his spirit, according to reports.

The seance was held in a building on East 79th Street between Second and Third avenues that's home to the restaurant Sojourn and apartments. Houdini lived in the building as a child when it was known as Mrs. Leffler’s Boarding House.

State Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright dedicated a plaque that will be installed inside of Sojourn, the New York Post reported. The restaurant's owner told the Daily News that he's inspired by the famous magician.

"He is the greatest magician of all time," Sammy Musovic told the Daily News. "He inspired me. He was an immigrant from Europe — and I am too."

The dedication ceremony began with magician Dorothy Dietrich escaping a straight-jacket in a time that beat Houdini's record and continued with a seance to contact Houdini's spirit, according to reports. The seance has become a Halloween tradition. Before his death, Houdini told his wife that he would use the code "Rosabelle Believe" to contact her after his death, according to a 2016 Guardian report.

Houdini died on Halloween in 1926 after rupturing his appendix a week earlier.

Photo by Google Maps street view