The Miami Hall of Science

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. 

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 through their shared interest in magic.  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" at local s early as y have been the catalyst that set Gilbert on a policy 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 was probably the most major implementation of that plan and could 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.  

The history of the 300 E. Flagler location is interesting.  Based on advertising in the Miami newspapers, Jahn the Magic Man occupied the store 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.   I wondered why he would be selling them instead of keeping them for a new store.  Possible explanations  might be that the new store came furnished with fixtures or possibly he hadn't secured a new store yet.  Those fixtures might well have included some of the Streamline Moderne display pieces described by Gilbert in the 1948 Guide to building a Hall of Science, cited above.

I am assuming redevelopment efforts in the area are what precipitated Jahn's move.  300 E. Flagler Street is located in the block of downtown Miami bounded by E. Flagler St. on the north, S.E. Third Ave. on the West, S.E. First St. on the South and Biscayne Blvd, on the East.  Based on photos of the 300 Flagler Ave. store and the west to east numbering of Flagler St, I believe that 300 Flagler St. was on the corner of Flagler Ave and S.E. Third Ave., with an entrance at the corner and the longest side of the store on S.E. Third Ave. In late 1954 the Western portion of that block was purchased by First National Bank of Miami and in January of 1955 they announced plans for the construction of a major banking center on the site.  Later in 1955 Jahn's classified ads offering his fixtures for sale appeared.  I am not sure what actually took place at that location, but in 1969, an article appeared in the Miami Herald on November 2nd, 1969 describes a move of the First Federal Bank building, at that time located at 300 E. Flagler St., to a new location at 18495 Biscayne Blvd., some 12 miles to the north.  I have been unable to connect First Federal Bank of Miami with First Federal Bank, so perhaps the development by First Federal Bank never took place, but rather a branch of First Federal was built on the location instead.  Is it possible that it was the construction of this bank branch building on the 300 E. Flagler site some 14 years earlier could have been what caused Jahn the Magic Man to move?  The reason the branch had to be moved in 1969 was because of a much bigger First Federal project, namely the construction of the 32 story First Federal Building on that site.   That building opened in June of 1973 and to the best of my knowledge is still standing as the Sun Trust International Center.

Fortunately for my research, Leroy Jahn and his Hall of Science got a lot on newspaper coverage in the local papers.  First of all, I learned from the newspapers that it was not billed on the outside of the building as a Hall of Science, but rather did business as "Jahn the Magic Man."  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.

Newspaper advertising reflects that by 1957 and 1958 "Jahn the Magic Man" was operating from 50 S.E. Third  Ave., between E. Flagler St. and First Street.  The second location was around the corner and across the street from the original location.  In both 1957 and 1958, the Miami Herald ran feature articles on Jahn's store.  They both had a photo of the front of the S.E. Third Avenue store.  The one linked at the clipping to the left even featured photos of Jahn and his son Marvin (Buddy) Jahn.  You can click on either of these images for a larger image of the ad or a readable pdf of the article.  The article is remarkable in that it provides what I believe may be the only photograph of the Miami Hall of Science available today.