Jesse Dameron Performing Magic at Duane Morris Plaza

Jesse Dameron performing close-up magic for guests at Harper’s Garden inside Duane Morris Plaza in Philadelphia. — This photograph shows Jesse Dameron performing on the bottom floor of a Harper's Garden, a restaurant and party/event venue located inside of Duane Morris Plaza.

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In January 2026, I was at Harper’s Garden to perform interactive magic for a corporate party crowd. If you aren't familiar with the spot, it's a restaurant and event space in Center City Philadelphia's Duane Morris Plaza.

‍Client: Duane Morris, LLP‍
Event Type: Tax Season Kickoff‍
Date: January 30, 2026‍
Entertainment Start Time: 2:30 p.m.‍
Venue: Harper’s Garden in Duane Morris Plaza, 31 S 18th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103‍
Region: Center City Philadelphia
Audience: CPAs, attorneys, and other staff, ages 25 to 65‍
Group Size: 40 people‍
Arrival Time: Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., 2-3 hours ahead of showtime

That morning, I was at the Holiday Inn Express on Walnut Street. The temperature was below freezing, and the news had several warnings about how dangerous the cold weather was, so I did not walk. By driving standards, I was already parked close. Instead of driving to Duane Morris Plaza and parking nearby, I played it safe by hiring a Lyft driver to take me there. This kept parking out of the equation entirely, avoided delays from parking garages, and avoided weather risks.

In the planning stages, my contact at the firm sent over photos of the room ahead of time, which gave me a feel for the layout before I ever walked in.

The afternoon opened with an internal awards segment, and I began the magic after that wrapped up, right on schedule at 2:30.

On the lower level, the room is dark and rustic, and the best way I can describe the lighting is "dreamy." The light color is more orange-ish yellow than standard lights. It looks like something out of a Peter Pan movie, glowy, vintage, and almost "supernatural." This was ideal for a Philadelphia magician whose job it is to simulate the supernatural. You can see exactly what I mean in the photo below.

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Magician lets audience member handle the cards in Duane Morris Plaza — Jesse Dameron switches places with an audience member during a card trick. The concept was to increase the perceived impossibility by never touching the playing cards. This photo was taken at the event room in Harper's Garden inside Duane Morris Plaza.

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With a room full of CPAs and attorneys kicking off tax season, I built part of the show around the obvious: accountants love numbers, so I themed one routine to be about numbers and then predicted a number.

A couple of employees joined remotely that day, so this was technically considered a hybrid show. Most of the group was there in the room, and two more experienced the show virtually.

While I was breaking down and loading out, a few employees were still hanging around and began a conversation. It wasn't long before I ended up performing a couple of quick close-up card tricks for them.

A photographer was on hand to capture the event, which is where these photos came from.

Afterward, I sent the event photos over WeTransfer and mailed an assortment of Lindt chocolate truffles as a thank-you.

JoAnn, who organized the event on the firm’s side, texted afterward to say the group had a great time. Of course, this is always good to hear - and I appreciate her kind words. The audience was nice and it was clear the company culture had a human element, not the stereotypical "corporate robotic" image you see in the Apple TV series Severance.

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