Houston's Magic Island could be open for business by the...

See inside Magic Island as construction crews work to renovate it for a planned fall revival...

Magic Island, once an '80s and early '90s Houston nightlife attraction, is getting new life after a decade of inactivity. The site at 2215 Southwest Freeway, the large, white building with the pharaoh head on top, has been buzzing with construction crews working to transform the dining and performance venue.

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Manny Fahid and his assistant, Sue Smith, are working for the building's owner Mohammad Athari to get the venue open by Nov. 15. Chron.com toured the building Thursday to check on the progress.

First opened in 1983, Magic Island was a destination dining experience featuring magic shows, music, dining and drinking. Acts like Don Rickles, Tiny Tim, and Frank Sinatra Jr. played its stage. It wouldn't be a stretch to call it a piece of Vegas on Greenbriar.

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According to Fahid on Thursday they've installed all new wiring and plumbing in the building that had been a haunt for transients since it closed after Hurricane Ike in 2008. A decade of damage, including fire and vandalism, wasn't easy to undo. Every lick of electrical wire was taken by scavengers. It's also been a favorite site for urban explorers looking for thrills and chills in old, abandoned buildings.

"We had to rip down all the sheet rock and basically reduce the building to a shell," Fahid told Chron.com, pointing to walls reduced to the studs on the first floor. "We were able to save some of the antique furniture though."

The decorations from Magic Island that weren't pilfered over the years are in safekeeping offsite, ready to go back inside.

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Currently three Egyptian statues are sitting in the parking lot waiting for a date a with a painter who will hopefully return them to their '80s luster.

Stacks of sheet rock are on the second floor ready to be installed. The elaborate Egyptian-style molding has been restored where it was salvageable. Around-the-clock armed guards watch over the construction site.

Fahid was an employee at the venue back in 1983 when it first opened and he's also emotionally invested in seeing Magic Island not just get back to what it once was, but even better.

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"We had painters come in already and restore some of the murals upstairs," Fahid said, pointing to a large "Ask Alexander" mural near where a new bar should reside in a few months.

A large patio on the building's western end is currently being dug out, which Fahid said should be able to seat up to 200 people.

As for pharaoh head on the roof, which presides over Houston traffic, it's in the process of getting a facelift of its own.

"We're excited to bring the magic back to Houston," Fahid said.

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com