The future of the world’s largest functioning pipe organ is uncertain now that Macy’s is closing its Center City Philadelphia store:
The Wanamaker Organ has been part of the Center City cultural scene forever, with two organ recitals daily throughout the year as well as integrating with the Christmas Light Show over the holidays. I’m glad I stopped in for a Christmas recital when I was in town last month.
Not sure if relocating the organ is even a remote possibility. When John Wanamaker bought if from the ST. Louis World’s Fair it took thirteen rail cars to move it. Wanamaker’s son thought it was too small for the space, so he set up an organ factory in the top floor of the store and spent the next few decades expanding the organ from the original ~10,000 pipes to its current configuration with 28,750 pipes.
Hopefully the building’s owners will come up with a way to keep the organ running and maintain public access to it.
It’s a big tourist attraction: it draws people who will then (theoretically) spend money in the store. Hopefully enough to justify the cost of maintaining the organ.
That actually makes me really sad. I grew up in Philadelphia, my dad worked for the city. Every Christmas my mom would drive us kids down there for a day in Center City. We’d spend the day, pick up my dad after he was done work, then go hear the organ & see the light show at Wanamakers. It’s literally one of my favorite childhood memories.
Just down the road (Atlantic City Expressway) in Boardwalk Hall is a bigger, badder pipe organ with 33,000+ pipes. Its far from fully functional, however. Restoration work is ongoing.
Some billionaire could buy it, move it, and install it someplace in some large city that can be turned into an auditorium so people could come and hear the largest pipe organ in the US. It would cost a fortune to move and maintain it, but there’s probably somebody who has the money and would love to take on this kind of project for their city, and no, that’s not me.
I would guess whoever steps in will have to commit to keeping the thing in Philly - which probably rules out most of the people/companies with the money to pull it off.
I don’t think moving the organ is even remotely possible. It is really built into the building. When it was expanded in the early part of the 20th century, Wanamaker had an organ factory established on-site (on the top floor of the building), so there was no requirement to build it so that it could be moved from the factory to the installation site. They could just build the cases and chambers in place.
Latest news is that the current owner of the space that Macy’s occupies is planning to purchase the rest of the building (now poorly performing office space) and convert the Macy’s (three floors) space into mixed retail and dining and the upper nine floors into residential.
At one point this was one of the largest department stores in the word at 1.9 million square feet - it’s a huge building.
There was one government entity (Army Corps of Engineers???) that had significant office space in the building (1½? of the six floors), but they moved & went elsewhere. I don’t think they were able to (at least significantly) fill that space.
The building is in a good location, direct access to the underground concourse so one can get to the subways or regional rail without ever having to step out into the elements. Go down to the lobby & right into Macy’s, well, for two more months. Across the street from city hall & even closer to the DA’s office for a law firm/lobbyist.
I remember when I was a kid in Virginia, my family saw Mannequin in the theater. When they showed the interior of the store, my Mom and Bubby both got very excited and recognized the Wanamaker building.
When I saw on the local news that Macy’s was closing and the future of the organ in light show were uncertain, I thought of Mom. I still haven’t told her partly because I keep forgetting and partly because the news will make her sad.