Fire Put Out at Hollywood's Magic Castle

Hollywood - An attic fire broke out today at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, but firefighters doused the flames and no one was injured.

Firefighters sent to 7001 W. Franklin Ave., near Highland Avenue, about 12:35 p.m. extinguished the fire in just more than an hour, said Matt Spence of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Spence said the cause of the blaze "appears to be accidental in nature," but he could not be any more specific. A damage estimate also was not immediately available.

The Magic Castle is the private clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts Inc., according to the organization's website.

The iconic castle structure was built in 1909 as a home for prominent banker Rollin B. Lane, who envisioned turning the Hollywood area into acres of farms, ranches and orange groves. However, severe drought conditions left Lane unable to fulfill his dream.

The Lane family moved in the 1940s, and the castle was split into several homes, then eventually into apartments.

Its transformation into a club for magicians began in the 1960s. Milt Larsen, a writer for the game show "Truth or Consequences," rallied friends and other donors to restore the building and turn it into a private club for magicians -- a dream that was long held by Larsen's father.

The Magic Castle opened on Jan. 2, 1963.

According to its website, the members-only club will be closed tonight. Coincidentally, the castle was in the midst of a Halloween-week promotion themed "Inferno at the Magic Castle."