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Presto performs a magic trick in his Long Beach shop. Photos by Jason Ruiz.<\/em><\/p>\n The tight quarters of Presto Magic shop–a wonderland of squirting calculators, jumping bandaged fingers and other tricks and gags–has become even more intimate with the influx of customers hoping to make one last magical purchase before the shop is shuttered for good Friday.<\/p>\n They shuffle through the stacks of magic starter kits, comic books and figurines to sift through the bargain-priced tricks and exchange stories how this shop has served as a hub for local magicians for the past 30 years. No one leaves without saying a final goodbye to their dear friend, Presto.<\/p>\n Fred \u201cPresto\u201d Broder, the bearded, blue-eyed wizard is not yet gone, but his shop is in its final days. The way he still greets the customers who have flocked to his shop recently to bid adieu would make you believe it was the grand opening instead of the final act of Presto Magic. And although he is \u201csurprised and shocked\u201d at the turnout, he sees no reason in changing his approach to business because being friendly and engaging toward his customers is all he\u2019s ever known.\u00a0<\/p>\n His magic shop had its modest beginnings as a small display on the countertop of his mother\u2019s used book store, a store he took over after she suffered a stroke. He used the small display of tricks and books as a way to reconnect with his passion that he discovered as a 12-year-old boy growing up in Saranac Lake, New York. But Presto is also the first to point out that it was also a way for a young, struggling businessman to purchase magic at a cheaper, wholesale price.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very sneaky way of doing things,\u201d he said as he shuffled a deck of playing cards in his nimble hands.<\/p>\n Eventually he lost his mother\u2019s bookstore in the ’80s and was offered a discounted rent for a space on Atlantic Avenue. There, he created what he regarded as the biggest magic shop on the West Coast as he dove deeper into the magic scene, working as a speech professor at Compton College by day and performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood by night. Presto developed a reputation as a magician that reached farther than any extendable tissue paper trick.<\/p>\n Erik Cougar has been shopping at Presto Magic since 1982. While digging through what\u2019s left of the magic books this week, he recalled a time that two men in military fatigues walked into Presto\u2019s shop. One soldier, who was from the South, was so excited to be stationed close enough to Presto\u2019s store that he drove all the way from base just to shake the magician\u2019s hand. Cougar has drawers full of tricks that he\u2019s stored away since he started shopping and although he\u2019s saddened that such an important piece of the magic community is going away, he knew it was time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something of an anachronism,\u201d Cougar said of Presto Magic. \u201cI just think that the way things have changed with technology and entertainment\u2026I\u2019m not so sure you\u2019re ever going to see this again. I think in a way, this shop has outlived its time and outlived its kind.\u201d<\/p>\n Rising rents and city planning lead his store to its current residence at 4195 N. Viking Way, a location he owned until five years ago. Since then, Presto out of necessity has rented his space. But a combination of the failing health of his wife, his own \u201cwobbly\u201d condition and the tiresome smoke and mirrors act of trying to make ends meet have lead this old wizard to the decision that now is the time to close.\u00a0<\/p>\n The seemingly thousands of tricks, most of which have hand drawn descriptions of the secrets that lie within the box, are set for a date with a storage bin. The thought of converting to an online store has never crossed the mind of Presto because in his words, he\u2019s old, he hates online and he hates computers, But more than that, there\u2019s no intimacy on the web and to Presto, magic doesn\u2019t exist without it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat magic takes is the personal contact,\u201d Presto said. You can buy a trick but that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to be able to figure out how to work it.\u201d<\/p>\n As Friday approaches–seemingly with an end of an era in tow–there are many things the magician will miss about his shop. He\u2019ll miss performing the Photo Copy Card trick he invented, mesmerizing children and adults alike as he changes five two of clubs in five three of diamonds. He\u2019ll miss fostering the love for magic in those curious enough to wander into his shop for the first time. But most of all, he\u2019ll miss what most people take for granted: getting up in the morning to go to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you get to be old, you sit back in your rocking chair and you rock back and forth and that gests you nowhere,\u201d Presto said. \u201cThis store has kept me going.\u201d<\/p>\n {FG_GEOMAP [33.83378,-118.12577899999997] FG_GEOMAP}<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0<\/p>\n The tight quarters of Presto Magic shop–a wonderland of squirting calculators, jumping bandaged fingers and other tricks and gags–has become even more intimate with the influx of customers hoping to make one last magical purchase before the shop is shuttered for good Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":69058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1734,1735,1736],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-30-years","tag-closing","tag-magic","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3832"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=3832"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Closing](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Closing_Forever.JPG\")
\u201cI want people to enjoy coming here,\u201c Presto said. \u201cThat\u2019s the big thing. Of all of my secrets, getting people to enjoy what you\u2019re doing is the ultimate. And that means whether I\u2019m doing a magic trick or anything\u2026including running this store.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Even](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Even_More_Labels.JPG\")
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