SS10 – The Architect’s Nightmare Perfected (#9 of 16) by Wellington Enterprises

Effect: (From the Wellington Ad Copy) With the 10th in our Signature Series, we’ve brought a fantasy dream to life. The Wellington Building in all of its Art Deco Splendor brings to reality a most deceptive version of The Architect’s Nightmare- now Perfected!

More than ten years after Thayer introduced the Blue Phantom, a new version of the effect premiered in his Ballygram magazine and in an ad in Genii Magazine of January of 1943. This new version was titled, The Architect’s Nightmare. Rather than a stack of round checkers, this new version was designed with square blocks to represent floors in a building. Now, 81 years later Wellington is proud to present a modern version, styled after New York’s famed Empire State Building and with many additional features that greatly enhance the deceptiveness of the effect.

The effect begins with the construction of the building, one floor at a time. The seventh floor in blue. Feeling the 7th floor unlucky, it was magically moved to the middle of the building. Blocks above and below the blue floor can be shown to be separate at any phase of the routine. After much confusion, it was moved below the first floor. More confusion resulted and it was finally returned to the top floor – a place of dignity offering the famed Presidential Penthouse Suite. All blocks can again be individually removed from the pole.

We call this new version, The Architect’s Nightmare Perfected. We’ve included the improvements that we previously added to our Blue Phantom Perfected, introduced in 2019 and no longer available. These improvements add considerably to the deceptiveness of the original and include the following features:

• The effect begins with all blocks shown separately and dropped onto the pole one at a time. At any time during the presentation, the blocks can be removed from the pole – even when the blue block is in the center position.
• The yellow blocks have been numbered, indicating the floor of each. This numbering enhances the effect as it becomes clear that only the blue block is moving. The blue block represents the seventh floor. • As seen in the photo below, the square blocks allow a unique way of demonstrating that all blocks are separate. Without the need to remove them from the pole.
• At no time is it necessary for you to secretly lift the stack of blocks as in the original Blue Phantom.
• The changes in the position of the blue block are almost instantaneous and can occur in any order you desire.
• When the blue block appears in the center of the stack, between floor number 3 and floor number 4, there is no discrepancy in the size of the blocks above and below the blue block. The effect is deceptive even at close range.
• Each of the blocks has been precisely machined and assembled from five pieces using PVC plastic and aluminum.
• The tube covering the stack is only as tall as seven blocks – with no room for an extra block. The graphics on the tube are an applied laminated vinyl for extreme durability and allowing for a very detailed design.
• The base has been deceptively designed to appear thinner than the height of one block.
• Although the center position of the blue block in the stack is the most effective, any position from the third to the sixth can be substituted for the center position of the blue block.
• The center pole and its internal parts have been machined from brass, then polished and chrome plated. Due to the complexity of this project and the time required to make this item, only fifteen will be available. Similar in size to the original it measures 16 ½ inches in height.

The square blocks in this version presented many challenges. Each of these has been met and I am pleased to offer this very limited edition.

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