Photo courtesy of The Hand & The Eye. Photo credit: Douglas Friedman.
Chicago is known for its incredible architecture, world-class dining and vibrant entertainment scene. Just steps from the Magnificent Mile, The Hand & The Eye offers visitors a magical night out inside the historic McCormick Mansion, combining immersive entertainment, creative dining and cocktails in a unique phone-free setting. We caught up with the team behind this one-of-a-kind experience to learn more about Chicago's appeal and what makes The Hand & The Eye a must-visit destination.
Chicago is known for its architecture, dining, culture and entertainment. What makes it such a great travel destination, and what are some of your favorite experiences visitors shouldn't miss?
Chicago has this incredible ability to feel like a world-class destination while still maintaining a unique sense of personality. There's a pride here that you can feel in everything from our architecture and food to our creative communities.
I love encouraging visitors to explore beyond the obvious attractions. Spend an afternoon wandering, discover the various neighborhoods, catch live music, or make time for an experience you can't have anywhere else.
Chicago also has an extraordinary history with magic, something many visitors may not realize. It's one of the reasons we're so proud to have created The Hand & The Eye here. The spirit of creativity, showmanship and discovery has always been part of the city's DNA, and visitors are looking for those kinds of experiences more than ever.
Photo courtesy of The Hand & The Eye. Photo credit: Douglas Friedman.
The Hand & The Eye is located just steps from the Magnificent Mile. What makes this neighborhood so appealing, and what nearby attractions would you recommend to visitors?
You have incredible architecture, world-class shopping, beautiful hotels, fantastic dining and some of the city's most recognizable landmarks, all within walking distance.
What's especially exciting for us is that The Hand & The Eye adds something completely unexpected to that mix. You can spend the day exploring some of Chicago's most popular attractions and then step through the doors of a historic mansion into an entirely different world. I love that contrast.
The historic McCormick Mansion has a fascinating past. How does The Hand & The Eye embrace that history while creating something entirely new?
The mansion itself is really the heart of the entire experience. From the beginning, we knew we didn't want to simply place a new entertainment concept inside a historic building. We wanted the building itself to become part of the storytelling.
Working with David Rockwell and our creative team, we embraced that vision and built an experience that feels both respectful of the mansion's past and completely unlike anything it has housed before.
The Hand & The Eye offers much more than a traditional magic show. What can guests expect, and what makes the experience so unique?
The biggest misconception is that they're coming to sit down and watch a magic show. In reality, The Hand & The Eye is an entire world built around magic, wonder and human connection.
We're intentionally a phone-free environment, which I think is one of the most meaningful parts of the experience. It encourages people to be present, engage with one another and embrace that feeling of not knowing exactly what's coming next.
In a world where so much entertainment happens through a screen, there's something really special about bringing people together around a shared sense of wonder.
Dining and hospitality are also central to The Hand & The Eye. How do food, cocktails and entertainment come together to create a memorable night out in Chicago?
Hospitality isn't something that happens alongside the magic. It's part of the magic. The food, drinks, service, atmosphere and entertainment all work together to create a sense of occasion.
Chicago has one of the most exciting dining and hospitality scenes in the country, so we knew we had to create something that could stand alongside the city's best.
That meant treating the culinary and beverage programs with the same level of creativity and attention to detail as the performances themselves. At the end of the day, I think the best nights out are the ones where you lose track of time, connect with the people you're with and leave with a story to tell.
