The parking was limited at the studio warehouse where Magic City was filmed, but that didn't stop the cars from filling up the lot and parking along the street in order to get a piece of the live auction Saturday and Sunday.
Playing on a flat screen TV (certainly not from the 1950s) in the lobby of the warehouse was on loop one of the two seasons of Magic City. Once you entered the actual lot, you walked over two red carpets - always the star treatment at a Jay Sugarman auction - and it felt like you were walking onto a working film set. Tables and desks and bedroom sets were all set up exactly as they were in the show, and as proof, various scene catchers were displayed in the area so you could point out any particular item.
See also: Magic City Auction: '50s Chic Cars, Furniture, and Collectibles from Starz' Canceled Series
Organized in part by Starz Entertainment and Jay Sugarman Auction Corp., the two day long live auction drew in a healthy crowd and left buyers satisfied with their deals. Unlike the Burn Notice auction, which drew only a handful of fans in the large crowd, most attendees at the Magic City auction were there for the deals. The true fans bid from their homes online from somewhere else on the globe, like the virtual fan who snagged the Miramar Playa hotel sign for a whopping $3,175.
Crew from the show attended the auction and were there to assure buyers of the authenticity of certain items. Oftentimes the auctioneers would single them out in the crowd and ask for them to give a little backstory on a particular item or scene set.
After a couple of hours, the already intimately sized crowd got smaller, and so did the bids. At the beginning of the auction, the auctioneers were starting each bid over $100; towards the end, they started at around $5-$10. One of the best deals of the day on Saturday was a silk tablecloth and matching runner, which a member of the Starz crew said cost $300 It went for $5, and they threw in the table too.
For the fan of the 1950s (or the actual show), there were vintage items galore -- so many so that several items were bundled together in giant shelves and sold by the lot. There were radios, old TVs, phones, typewriters, kitchen appliances, and old leather-made suitcases and briefcases all from the 1950s. It was nostalgia heaven for those who grew up in Miami half a century ago.
The largest ticket item that sold to a buyer at the live auction was the Atlantis bar set, complete with booths and a custom made bar, for just over $1,000. Whoever the lucky bidder was, maybe he/she should open up a sweet piano bar (or maybe he/she already owns a restaurant).
In one half of the lot, all the outdoor patio and poolside furniture was set up, and draped on the plastic teal and white pool chairs with its signature "M" logo were Miramar Playa beach towels.
Let's not forget those classic 1950s cars. For this auction, there were three: two 1956 Ford Fairlanes and a 1956 Chevy Bel Air.
One woman called up a friend of hers who was wandering around the lot: "[Come] look at this because you'll never see it again!" Maybe she was referring to this hotel valet stand and matching carts. The attention to detail with the props on the show was astounding, to say the least.
If you looked inside the drawers of some items, you might find crumpled pieces of paper or old matches. But inside this seashell shaped trinket holder, which must have doubled as an ashtray, were used cigarette butts. We're not sure if those are butts from the series' actors or crew; either way, whoever went home with it should consider reselling them on eBay.
Not every single item was sold this weekend. The auction ended a little after 6pm both Saturday and Sunday with scattered items still unsold. Whatever wasn't sold online last Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, or during the live auction Saturday and Sunday, will be put up for auction online today, Monday, October 7. The final day of bidding begins at noon, so there's still hope for those Magic City fans who may have missed out.
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