✨Baltimore’s First Recorded Magic Show
- Poe's Magic Theatre
- Jul 8
- 4 min read
The Purloined Dispatch
Issue 15, July 24 to July 26, 2026
Baltimore’s First Recorded Magic Show
Baltimore’s documented magic history begins earlier than many people might expect. On December 3, 1787, an Italian magician performing as Signor Falconi appeared at the Old Theater. The Maryland Center for History and Culture identifies it as the earliest recorded magic performance in the city.
Falconi advertised feats involving cards, money, fire, eggs, watches, rings, birds, and other borrowed objects. Eighteenth-century audiences expected magicians to work with ordinary things rather than enormous mechanical illusions. That made the performance more immediate. The object had just come from someone’s pocket, and now it was behaving badly in public.
Baltimore was still a young city, but it already had theatres, newspapers, paying audiences, and at least one visiting magician willing to risk his reputation with borrowed jewelry. The profession has changed somewhat since 1787. The borrowed jewelry remains a concern.
Signor Falconi was followed by touring conjurers, illusionists, spirit mediums, escape artists, vaudeville performers, and local magic clubs. Baltimore became a regular stop between Philadelphia and Washington, partly because of geography and partly because audiences here continued buying tickets.
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Poe’s Magic Theatre This Weekend
Poe’s Magic Theatre and the Lord Baltimore Hotel have five confirmed events from Friday through Sunday. All dates and times below come directly from Poe’s event calendar.
Friday, July 24, 8 PM
Friday, July 24, 10 PM
Saturday, July 25, 8 PM
Saturday, July 25, 10 PM
Lord Baltimore Hotel Ghost Tours
Sunday, July 26, Noon
At the Lord Baltimore Hotel
LB Skybar is open Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 11 PM. The nineteenth-floor rooftop bar serves cocktails, beer, wine, and light food, and admission is limited to guests twenty-one and older. The hotel also offers $15 valet parking with a minimum $50 food and beverage purchase, excluding overnight accommodations.
LB Tavern remains open for meals and drinks before the performances. Guests attending Friday or Saturday evening shows should allow extra travel time. The Orioles are home all weekend, DJ Diesel is at Power Plant Live! on Friday, and Melanie Martinez is at CFG Bank Arena on Saturday. Downtown will not be empty.
The Lord Baltimore Hotel’s public event calendar does not list an additional hotel-produced concert or special event for July 24 through July 26 beyond the Poe’s programming. The next listed LB Tavern music event is Michael Brown on July 31.
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Downtown Baltimore Events
Baltimore Restaurant Week
Baltimore Summer Restaurant Week begins Friday, July 24, and continues through August 2. Participating restaurants across the city are offering fixed-price breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner menus.
The event marks its twentieth anniversary this year. Prices and participating restaurants vary, so reservations and menu checks are recommended before arriving with strong opinions about appetizers.
Friday, July 24
DJ Diesel at Power Plant Live!
Shaquille O’Neal performs as DJ Diesel at Power Plant Live! on Friday at 9 PM. Doors open at 8 PM, and the event is for ages eighteen and older.
Power Plant Live! is at 34 Market Place. This overlaps with the Friday Magic Showcase and ghost tour, so guests should expect increased traffic and rideshare activity in the Inner Harbor area.
Sunday, July 26
Woodshed Fest
The inaugural Woodshed Fest runs Sunday from noon to 9 PM at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The event includes live music, food and drink, and programming focused on Baltimore’s local music community.
The museum is at 1415 Key Highway.
Sources
CFG Bank Arena
Melanie Martinez brings HADES: THE SACRIFICE to CFG Bank Arena on Saturday, July 25.
Doors open at 7 PM, and the concert begins at 8 PM. The arena is at 201 West Baltimore Street, a short walk from the Lord Baltimore Hotel. Guests attending Poe’s on Saturday should account for concert traffic and heavier demand for nearby parking.
No arena event is listed for Friday, July 24, or Sunday, July 26.
Sources
Sports
The Baltimore Orioles host the Atlanta Braves for three games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this weekend.
Friday, July 24, 7:05 PMAtlanta Braves at Baltimore OriolesBirdland Hawaiian Shirt promotion
Saturday, July 25, 7:05 PMAtlanta Braves at Baltimore Orioles
Sunday, July 26, 1:35 PMAtlanta Braves at Baltimore Orioles
All three games are at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 333 West Camden Street. The Friday and Saturday games overlap with Poe’s evening programming, while Sunday’s game begins before Drag Brunch LIVE! has finished. Downtown parking will require actual planning, a practice some people regard as needlessly modern.
I found no Baltimore-area college home games significant enough to include this weekend. Most major college sports are between seasons.
Sources
Baltimore Weekend Weather
Friday is forecast to be pleasant with partial sunshine, a high near 82 degrees, and a low around 64.
Saturday should be partly sunny, with a high near 85 and a low around 68. Sunday will be warmer, reaching about 89, with a chance of one or two passing afternoon showers.
The forecast currently looks favorable for baseball, Restaurant Week, rooftop drinks, and Woodshed Fest. Sunday visitors should still check conditions before committing to a long outdoor afternoon. Weather retains the right to change its mind without issuing a correction.
Sources
The Purloined Dispatch publishes every week.
Poe's Magic Theatre at the Lord Baltimore Hotel | poesmagic.com
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