The John Wanamaker Store is a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

building and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on Market Street in the Center City district of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. It was designed by

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...

for

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He served as United States Postmaster General ...

, and opened in 1911; it replaced the first store on the grounds founded in 1876. It was the flagship store of the

Wanamaker's Wanamaker's was an American department store chain founded in 1861 by John Wanamaker. It was one of the first department stores in the United States, and peaked at 16 locations along the Delaware Valley in the 20th century. Wanamaker's was pur ...

department store chain, was acquired by

The May Department Stores Company The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...

in 1994, and converted to the May-owned

Hecht's Hecht's was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. It was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operated in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The family business was acqui ...

Strawbridge's Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban empori ...

, and

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

between 1995 and 2006. May itself was

acquired ''Acquired'' is a podcast by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal about business history and strategy. As of 2024, the podcast has more than 600,000 monthly listeners. History Gilbert and Rosenthal worked together at Madrona Venture Group and ini ...

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

in 2005, and converted to the Federated-owned

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

in 2006. Macy's closed the store without replacement in 2025. It contains the

Wanamaker Organ The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world, based on the number of playing pipes, the number of ranks and its weight. The Wanamaker Organ is located within a ...

, the largest functional organ in the world.

History

Wanamaker's (1910–1995)

In 1910,

replaced his existing Grand Depot in stages, and constructed a new, purpose-built structure on the same site in Center City Philadelphia. The new store, built in the Florentine style with granite walls by Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham, had 12 floors (nine for retail), numerous galleries and two lower levels totaling nearly two million square feet. The palatial emporium featured the

, the former

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

pipe organ, at the time one of the world's largest organs. The organ was installed in the store's marble-clad central atrium known as the Grand Court. Another item from the St. Louis Fair in the Grand Court is the large bronze eagle, which quickly became the symbol of the store and a favorite meeting place for shoppers. All one had to say was "Meet You at The Eagle" and everyone knew where to go. The store was dedicated by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

on December 30, 1911. Despite its size, the organ was deemed insufficient to fill the Grand Court with its music. Wanamaker's responded by assembling its own staff of organ builders and expanding the organ several times over a period of years. The "Wanamaker Organ" is the largest fully operational pipe organ in the world, with some 28,750 pipes. It is famed for the delicate, orchestra-like beauty of its tone as well as its incredible power. The organ still stands in place in the store today and free recitals are held twice every day except Sunday. Visitors are also invited to tour the organ's console area and meet with staff after recitals. Once a year, usually in June, "Wanamaker Organ Day" is held, which is a free recital which lasts most of the day. The New York store also housed a large organ; it was sold at auction in 1955 for $1,200 (~$ in ) after the New York store closed the year prior. In October 1987, the Wanamaker Building was sold to developer John Kusmiersky for $50 million. The historic Wanamaker's flagship store was reduced to the building's first five stories, leased back from the new owners. The upper stories were converted to offices. The Juniper Street side became the office building lobby, and the former basement budget "Downstairs Store" became a parking garage. The Crystal Tea Room restaurant was closed and eventually leased to the Marriott Corporation for use as a ballroom. Personal effects of Mr. Wanamaker from his until-then preserved office on the eighth floor, and the store archives, were donated to the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

. Beloved huge Easter paintings ''Christ before Pilate'' (1881) and ''Golgotha'' (1884) by

Mihály Munkácsy Mihály Munkácsy (20 February 1844 – 1 May 1900) was a Hungarian painter. He earned international reputation with his genre pictures and large-scale biblical paintings. Early years Munkácsy was born as ''Mihály Leó Lieb'' () to Mi ...

that had been personal favorites of Mr. Wanamaker and were displayed every year in the Grand Court during Lent were unceremoniously sold at auction in 1988. The Wanamaker's flagship store, with its famous organ and eagle from the St. Louis World's Fair, was designated a

in 1978. In 1992, a nonprofit group, the Friends of the

, was founded to promote the preservation, restoration and presentation of the famous pipe organ.

Hecht's, Strawbridge's, and Lord & Taylor (1995–2006)

Parent company

Woodward & Lothrop Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. that began as the capital's first department store in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic United St ...

collapsed in bankruptcy, filing for Chapter 11 on January 17, 1994. The Wanamaker's chain was sold to

May Department Stores Company The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...

on June 21, 1995. Wanamaker's Inc. was formally dissolved, and operations were consolidated with May's

division in Arlington, Virginia. After 133 consecutive years, the Wanamaker's name was removed from all stores and replaced with

. The building closed for renovation and refurbishment in 1996, which saw the retail space reduced in size again to three floors, with two more upper floors converted to commercial office space. The flagship structure was sold again in early 1997, to Amerimar Realty. The retail portion reopened in August 1997 as a branch of New York-based

, another division of

May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...

. In August 2006 the store was converted to

, operated by the Macy's East Division of Federated Department Stores Inc., now

Macy's, Inc. Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, File ...

, which acquired May in late 2005.

Macy's (2006–2025)

With a long tradition of parades and fireworks displays, Macy's took a prominent civic role in fostering historic Wanamaker traditions, especially the Wanamaker Organ and the Christmas Light Show. Beginning in 2006, under

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

became the show's narrator. Also in 2006, the Santa Express Train at the top of the Grand Court returned. In 2007, the entire Christmas Light Show was completely modernized and rebuilt by Macy's Parade Studio on new trusses with lighter materials and LED lighting. In 2008, a new and bigger Magic Christmas Tree with LED lights debuted. However, due to safety concerns and logistical issues, the dancing water fountains were retired and sold. In 2008, Macy's celebrated its 150th birthday in the Philadelphia flagship store with a concert featuring the Wanamaker Organ and the Philadelphia Orchestra that attracted a capacity audience. At that point, only 3 floors of the building were still being used as department store sales area. In September 2023 the building went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

after a substantial loss of its commercial tenants. As of January 2024 the owners were considering the possibility of converting the building to residential spaces. On January 9, 2025 Macy's announced that the Wanamaker Building store would be closing in March 2025. The store hosted a day of concerts on its historic organ on March 22, 2025 and closed on the evening of March 23, 2025.

Flagship store setup

* Ground floor: 2,500-pound "Durana" bronze eagle statue in the Grand Court, made by German sculptor

August Gaul August Gaul (; October 22, 1869 – October 18, 1922) was a German sculptor and expressionism artist, born in Großauheim (now part of Hanau). August Gaul was a founding member of the Berlin Secession. On close terms with art dealers like Bruno ...

for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exhibition and purchased by John Wanamaker; to this day, Philadelphians frequently agree to "meet me at the eagle" at Wanamaker's. * 3rd floor: Egyptian Hall auditorium behind the executive offices, also a Greek Hall auditorium. As of 2008, the architecture of Egyptian Hall is obscured by the Executive Offices and Dickens Christmas Village. * 8th floor: Toy department had a ''Rocket Express''

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

(from 1946 to 1984) for the kids that traveled around the toy department, camera department, and piano and organ department. The monorail car is a static display at Philadelphia's

Please Touch Museum The Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in the Centennial District, Philadelphia, Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special ...

. * 9th floor: Crystal Tea Room * 10th floor: In-house physician and nurses * 12th floor: Wanamaker Organ Shop, where the Wanamaker Organ was enlarged by an in-house expert staff * Sub-floors: The Downstairs Store, post office,

lost and found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property, lost articles th ...

, shoe repair, the Dairy Bar restaurant. This area became a parking garage. * Radio broadcasting station * Model house on the furniture floor * Home of the world's largest playable pipe organ

Crystal Tea Room

Wanamaker's also was home to the Crystal Tea Room restaurant on the 9th floor, which closed to the public in 1995; it was restored as a private banquet hall, accommodating sit-down receptions of up to 1,000 people. A Wanamaker's guidebook from the 1920s states that the Crystal Tea Room was the largest dining room in

, and one of the largest in the world. It once could serve 1,400 people at a time. It served breakfast in the morning, luncheon, and

afternoon tea Tea is an umbrella term for several different meals consisting of food accompanied by tea to drink. The English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of various kinds an ...

. The kitchen's big ovens could roast 75 turkeys at a time and the facility was equipped with lockers and baths for the employees. In acknowledgment of John Wanamaker's promotion of temperance causes, alcohol was not served in the Tea Room until after the family trust sold the store. There was informal modeling in the Tea Room.Nicole C. Kirk, ''Wanamaker's Temple: The Business of Religion in an Iconic Department Store'' (NYU Press, 2018). There was also a balcony café, the Terrace on the Court, on the third floor facing the Grand Court, where shoppers could hear the Wanamaker Organ as they dined. Macy's closed this restaurant in 2008.

Christmas Light Show

In 1956, the Philadelphia Wanamaker's premiered a Christmas Light Show, a large musical and blinking light display several stories high, viewable from several levels of the building. Its popularity with Philadelphia parents and children, as well as tourists, ensured a continuous run, even after the building was sold to different business interests. For decades until 1994, the melodic baritone narrator of the show was

John Facenda John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda ( ; August 8, 1913September 26, 1984) was an American broadcaster and sports announcer. He was a fixture on Philadelphia radio and television for decades, and achieved national fame as a narrator for N ...

, known to Philadelphians for decades reporting the news on radio and television and known nationally as the voice of

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...

. NFL Films'

Ed Sabol Edwin Milton Sabol (September 11, 1916 – February 9, 2015) was an American filmmaker and the founder (with his son Steve Sabol, among others) of NFL Films. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 as a contributor due to his ...

referred to Facenda as "The Voice of God". His wordsmithing and dramatic baritone delivery were highlights of the shows and did much to boost Facenda's stock and mystique. Various announcers narrated the show between 1995 and 2005.

Gallery

File:Wanamaker xmas lights.jpg, The original Christmas light show in 2006 File:WanamakerBuilding3.JPG, The Christmas light show in 2013

References

External links

*
Friends of the Wanamaker Organ
{{Authority control Commercial buildings completed in 1911 Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia History of Philadelphia Macy's stores Market East, Philadelphia Market Street (Philadelphia) May Department Stores National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Wanamaker family