Hahn Bros. Fireproof Warehouses, 112-120 W. 107th St., New York, 2001  

The storage garage at 112-120 W. 107th St. was built in 1915, and the original owner was Chelsea Storage Warehouses, Inc., Louis Schramm, president. As early as 1914 William F. Hahn was Secretary-Treasurer of Chelsea Fireproof Storage Warehouses Inc. In the late 1920s (approximately 1927/28) William Hahn founded his own storage business with his brother Frederick Hahn, and Hahn Bros. Fireproof Warehouses, Inc., took over the 107th St. facility. Hahn Bros. remained in this building until the mid-1970s.

This ad for Hahn Bros. appeared in the Manhattan telephone directory, Winter, 1928. A very similar ad from November, 1934, shows a second address for Hahn Bros.: 231-235 E. 55th St.

The Hahn brothers were William F. Hahn and Frederick J. Hahn. They were the sons of Frederick Hahn, an immigrant from Germany, who in the 1910 U. S. Census described himself as a saloon owner. His sons were native born New Yorkers.

William Frederick Hahn (1881-1955) received the following death announcement in the New York Times, 7 August 1955, "William F. Hahn, president of Hahn Brothers Fireproof Warehouses, Inc., died Friday at the Forest Hills (Queens) General Hospital after a long illness. His age was 73. Mr. Hahn had resided at 108-22 Sixty-ninth Avenue, Forest Hills, for thirty-seven years. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Henrietta Neiderstein Hahn; a son William F. Hahn Jr. of Garden City, L. I.; a brother, Fred J. Hahn of Bellerose, L. I., and two granddaughters."

Frederick J. Hahn (1891-1957) received the following notice in the New York Times, 25 December 1957, "Frederick J. Hahn of 11 Delaware Road [Bellerose, L. I], founder of Hahn Brothers Fireproof Warehouses, Inc., in New York and a civic leader in Bellerose, died at his home here yesterday. He was 66 years old. Because of illness, Mr. Hahn sold his interest about a week ago in the warehouse business he founded in 1927. He continued as Fire Commissioner of Bellerose, which position he had occupied since 1941, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Bellerose, to which he was first elected in 1942. He formerly was chief of the Bellerose Fire Department and president of the Bellerose Civic Association. Surviving are his widow, Maxine; a son, Frederick S.; two daughters, Mrs. Etta Linney and Mrs. Joan Fern, and seven grandchildren"

Currently (July 2011) 112-120 W. 107th St. is occupied by Manhattan Mini Storage. Hahn Bros. Fireproof Warehouses Inc. is listed at 622 Communipaw Ave., Jersey City, NJ. Their website is hahnbros.com.

Copyright © 2011 Walter Grutchfield