City Beat: Presto Magic, a shop of another era, prepares to close

Some places you know you won’t see the likes of again.

Presto Magic in Long Beach is one such place.

The magic shop feels like a holdover from an earlier era. It has been around more than three decades. The long, narrow store is crowded with wonders -- shelf after shelf piled with box upon box.

Blooming bouquets, flying coins, soft coins -- the stuff of young magicians’ dreams.

But Presto Magic is closing Friday. The rent is too high, says the shop’s 81-year-old owner, Fredric “Presto” Broder, who is tired of worrying about what he says is the largest remaining magic shop on the West Coast.

Read all about Presto Magic in my latest City Beat story. And keep reading below to see the story -- in photos and video -- that I sent out on Twitter:

<noscript>[<a href=”//storify.com/LATimescitybeat/presto-magic-a-magical-magic-shop-goes-kapoof” target=”_blank”>View the story “Presto Magic, a magical magic shop, goes kapoof” on Storify</a>]</noscript>

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