The Miami Hall of Science

The Miami Hall of Science is probably the most elusive of all the Gilbert Halls of Science, as very little has been written about it.   For that reason, I did a deep dive into Miami newspapers and Florida history resources to get a little more information

From what we know, the Miami Hall of Science originated as the result of efforts by Leroy F. Jahn, a Miami businessman, to find a way to dramatically display the products he sold in his magic, hobby, and sporting goods store in Miami.  At the left is a photo of Jahn taken at the dedication of the Chicago Hall of Science in 1953.

Leroy Jahn was originally from Cincinati, Ohio and appears to have come to Florida in the 1920's, at first for just the winter seasons.  Exactly when he became a permanent Florida resident is unclear.  A news clipping from the Miami News dated December 21st, 1928 reveals that he ran a restaurant called the Kentucky Coffee Shop.  (His father was from Kentucky) It also noted that he was a special inspector with the Miami Police department in the early 1940's but resigned in 1941.  He opened his magic, hobby and sporting goods store in 1942.

Around the end of 1943, he visited the New York Hall of Science and was greatly impressed with the dramatic presentation of the products displayed in Gilbert's new Hall of Science.  Jahn and Gilbert had been friends for many years as Jahn had been one of Gilbert's first salesmen.  It was no doubt a perfect fit as both shared an interest in magic.¹  After seeing the New York Hall of Science and meeting with Gilbert, Jahn decided that he would like to create a similar Hall of Science in Miami.  Gilbert had long seen the potential for this linking of retailer with manufacturer and helped Jahn accomplish his goal.  In 1945, the Miami Hall of Science opened at 300 East Flagler Street. ²

The meeting with Jahn in 1943 and his subsequent creation of the Miami Hall of Science was probably the first major implementation of Gilbert's long expressed desire to create Halls of Science in retail stores.   Even in Gilbert's pre Flyer days, he referred to the "Halls of Science" as the source of Gilbert products. You can see the use of the phrase "from the Gilbert Hall of Science"  many years before the opening of the New York Hall of Science.  Jahn's interest in opening his own Hall of Science in Miami, was welcomed by Gilbert as it advanced his plan of encouraging all his wholesale customers to "open a Hall of Science at your local toy store." Jahn's opening of a Hall of Science in his Miami store may have stimulated Gilbert to publish a guide book for doing just that in 1948.  (Click here to view that guide book)  It provided several items of display furniture to use to create a uniform Gilbert look for the display of Gilbert products, very much in the Streamline Moderne style that characterized the New York Hall of Science.   

300 East Flagler Street Store

Leroy Jahn's first store at 300 E. Flagler Street was quite large with its entrance at the corner of E. Flagler and S.E. Third Avenue,.  The major part of the store extended down S.E. Third St, which provided room for the long sign that proudly proclaimed it as the "Gilbert Hall of Science," as well as "Jahn, the Magic Man."  The layout inside wasn't spectacular, but rather like what one would find in a large department store.   So far, the only photos that have turned up of this store are those that appeared in Toys and Novelties magazine in 1945 and 1947.  Frank Castiglione is reported to have been sent to Miami in the early 1950's to build a layout, so the store may have had a different layout later in its history.  

Leroy Jahn's interest in magic was definitely a big part of the operation of the store as it even included a stage for magic shows, as seen in one of the photos below.

Thanks to Roger Carp and Firecrown Media, I can present several of these photos as shown below.  These photos have recently appeared in  a Special Issue titled Display Layouts and Showrooms, which is available at this link.  That issue also contains photos of many other photos from this americanflyerdisplays.org website.

Leroy Jahn appears to be a prolific newspaper advertiser and there are many illustrated ads for his store in the local papers.  In 1947 and 1948 advertisements showed the address as the opening location of 300 E. Flagler St.  The ad at the left ran in the Miami Herald on December 3, 1948.  It was billed as "the only Hall of Science south of Washington."  Based on advertising in the Miami newspapers, Jahn the Magic Man and his Gilbert Hall of Science occupied the 300 E. Flagler location between at least 1945 and 1955, when Jahn placed want ads in the Miami Daily News offering his store fixtures for sale because he was moving his store.   This was apparently brought about by the fact that around that time, the First National Bank of Miami quietly bought up almost the entire block in which Jahn's store was located for the construction of a large bank building.  This construction project may have been a pipe dream because 14 years later, in 1969, newspaper reports indicate that a "First Federal" branch bank at 300 E. Flagler was being physically moved to a location several miles north on Biscayne Blvd.  I have not been able to connect First Federal Bank with First National Bank of Miami, but I am sure there is a connection.  In any case, the photos of the move of the branch bank show only a modest branch bank being moved, not a full block building.  As to the fixtures, I wondered why he would be selling them instead of keeping them for a new store.  It is most likely that these fixtures were simply not needed in a smaller store.  They probably included some of the Streamline Moderne display pieces described by Gilbert in the 1948 Guide to building a Hall of Science, and shown in the photos above. 

Shortly after that First Federal branch building was moved in 1969, First Federal began construction of a huge tower building that has since been remodeled and exists today as the SunTrust International Center also know as "One Downtown."  The address is now 1 S.E. Third Ave.  The Walgreens store that occupies the corner where Jahn's store was located still uses the 300 E. Flagler address.  The photo of that store below is looking in the same direction as the 1945 photo of Jahn's store shown above, South on S.E. Third Ave.

50 S.E. Third Ave. Store