Macy's Closing Philadelphia Store /w Wanamaker Organ

[Admin]

[myorgan]

It's behind a paywall. I'd be interested in knowing the details, though.

Michael

[Larason2]

Here is a non paywalled article:

https://whyy.org/articles/center-cit...-to-close/amp/

Here we see why it's closing:

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ma...cnpLnrg-hAfl-F

Why is it the only department store with an organ is "underproductive!" Hopefully it is refurbished in a way that preserves the organ.

[AllenAnalog]

Well this announcement hit me like a gut punch. I grew up in Trenton and we frequently went to the Wanamaker store to shop for the nicer things. We would also go to Philadelphia each Christmas to see the Christmas Light Show, hear the organ and eat in the cafe overlooking the Grand Court. I rode the monorail on the ceiling of the toy department.

In the late 1990s I volunteered to help with the organ restoration and in 2000 was hired by Lord & Taylor, the operator of the store at the time, to transform the complex electro-mechanical control system for the Light Show into a computer-controlled system. Over the next eight years I spent many weeks working at the store and also joining the volunteers working on the organ when I had time.

The new organ restoration shop carved out of abandoned retail and office space is second to none in terms of space and facilities. I became good friends with Peter Conte and spent many hours after the store closed listening to him practice as I worked on my projects. Curt Mangel and I worked on ways to integrate live organ music as part of the Light Show performances when an organist was available. When Macy's took over the store it was a wonderful change from the cash-strapped Lord & Taylor operation.

I donated a large commercial Lutron dimming system for Greek Hall when the friends installed the Wurlitzer theater organ in that room. We had fun bringing back the stud lighting and illuminating the Greek medallions and stained glass windows. It was turned into a musical performance space and a place to show silent movies.

Along with major contributions from the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, Macy's spent a lot of money on restoration and upgrades for both the organ and the Light Show. The figures in the show were rebuilt and changed from incandescent to LED lights. Center City was enjoying an increasing residential population, opening of great restaurants and the store was one of the top performers of the chain. They even expanded the third floor retail space.

Then Covid hit and things changed in downtown Philly, like in so many other major cities. Leased and occupied office space in the upper floors of the Wanamaker building diminished dramatically, major shifts in retailing nationwide were taking place and the murder of a security guard at the store really took a toll on store customers feeling safe in the area.

After the Wanamaker stores closed and the building got sold, there were a series of operators leasing the lower floors of the retail space (It is a 14-floor building occupying an entire city block). At first it was five floors of retail. But when Lord & Taylor took over it was reduced to 3 floors and the first and second floor mezzanine areas were abandoned.

From what I've seen so far it does not look like Macy's is going to put one of the Bloomingdale stores in its place. So that means redevelopment of the retail space. When Wanamaker's failed, the City of Philadelphia realized that the Grand Court was a city landmark. The Wanamaker Building holds rare protections from the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Most historic buildings only have protections for their facades, but the Wanamaker Grand Court, including its iconic bronze eagle statue and organ, is one of only five interiors that are protected in Philadelphia. I'm not sure if the Light Show, seen by well over 150,000 each year, is also protected.

There are so many unknowns at this time. If the organ is not played daily, and therefore maintained by both interested owners and volunteers, it will once again fall into disrepair. The organ shop also has a museum and archive, preserving artifacts from both the organ and the Light Show. There is a professional recording studio for recording the organ performances and for radio broadcasts. The ownership of the Wurlitzer in Greek Hall may still be in the hands of the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ.

One hopes that some very creative people will find a way to keep the Grand Court and the organ a continuing part of Philadelphia's traditions but money will certainly be the deciding element for most of what happens next.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20250109.html

https://wanamakerorgan.com/

Me, smiling back when the good times were still happening:

https://wanamakerorgan.com/2019/08/m...nnium-edition/

[circa1949]

Thanks for sharing your history with the Wanamaker. At least this isn't a case like what has sometimes happened with movie theater lessees, who have sometimes destroyed projection equipment when they abandoned a theater to scuttle any competing exhibitor's use of it! Macy's will surely handle their exit professionally. And it's hard to believe the city won't find another suitable use for the space. TBH I was in downtown Philly a couple times last year, and I was surprised the basic touristy parts of Center City weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.

[michaelhoddy]

Larry, I'm not sure I was aware of your association with the Wanamaker building and your incredible work there. This was amazing for you to share. Thank you!

[Admin]

I was in the store several times pre-Covid for Wanamaker Organ Days and an ATOS convention, and the store was essentially dead, devoid of customer traffic. I'm not surprised that Macy's have pulled the plug. Although the historical designation offers some hope that the Grand Court and the Wanamaker organ will survive, that in itself doesn't mean the organ will be regularly played and heard. The fate of the Greek Hall Wurlitzer is more precarious.

The organ has survived, in various states of repair, over many decades of ownership changes in the past. By all accounts, Macy's was a good steward of the organ and one can only hope that the next occupant of the space will be as well.

[circa1949]

My vague memory of visits to the organ is something like 2003 or 2004, 2009, 2010 or 2011, 2016 and 2024 (that I am sure about!). Most but not all of them were for Organ days. I remember the store seeming to have the most shoppers not there for the organ in 2004 and 2009. And for example I remember there being a cafe on the second floor in 2004 that was gone on later visits. So I think it's been affected by the general downturn in that kind of retail shopping. I used to shop at the nearest Macy's which is also closing, but haven't needed to since I've been work from home since the start of COVID, and will hopefully stay that way. No more need for business casual clothing!

[Admin]

Posted on the FB Wanamaker Organ Page

NEWS BULLETIN
Folks: Obviously the announcement of Macy's leaving the Wanamaker Building comes as a terrific shock and is of enormous public interest. Macy's has been very positive toward making the transition a smooth and respectful one.
The Wanamaker Organ will be continuing its daily concerts until closing. The city is pulling out all the stops too, committing to assisting in the development of this amazing retail space.
Please forbear from negativity and cynicism as the Friends diplomatically and professionally work with all related parties to further your interests and secure the future of this irreplaceable civic and cultural asset. Please also consider a contribution to further our work on your behalf.

[AllenAnalog]

As noted by Admin, the retail space on the lower floors of the Wanamaker building has gone through several transitions of lessee since Wanamaker's closed and the building was sold. And so far the organ has always come back.

This is without a doubt the most complicated organ installation in the world in terms of where the various chambers are located and how you get to them. Most people have no idea how complex this really is.

The organ was built and expanded over multiple floors of the building, some relatively recently. The console is on the 2nd floor. The main chambers are on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The string and relocated orchestral organ chambers are on the 4th floor. The new gong is on a platform on the sixth floor accessible only through a hatch in the wall of an office that used to belong to the Corps of Engineers. The echo and ethereal organs are on opposite ends of the 7th floor. The organ shop is on the 3rd floor mezzanine and Greek Hall is on the 3rd Floor.

All of that was fine when the entire building was under one ownership. But now ownership of the building is fragmented. Chambers above the three floor retail space are in areas not covered by Macy's lease. Leases for the other chamber spaces and permission to access them are held by multiple entities. So the whole maintenance access situation is incredibly complicated since the organ is huge and spread out over six floors of this massive building.

After the demise of the Wanamaker store and the sale of the building, major renovations, including installing sprinkler systems, were started in order to transform the upper floors into office space for lease. Even though every effort was made to identify everything that was part of the organ, a conduit containing the wires to the Echo organ was cut. And then there was a flood.

I learned this morning that as tenants vacated their leased spaces, entire floors were shut down and elevator access to them was terminated for security purposes. So it became impossible for a while to access upper floor chambers.

The pedal division is undergoing restoration and parts of it are in the organ shop. There may need to be an emergency "symposium" of volunteer pipe organ professionals to get that work finished before Macy's closes the store. Then those parts of the organ would be back in the chambers in case access to the organ shop is lost.

This next chapter in the life of the Wanamaker organ is going to be the most complex and challenging one yet and nothing about that future is clear at this point.

[don60]

I wonder whether the historic designation of the organ and some of the building interior will come back to bite their caretakers. I presume that the organ can never be moved now, so starting over in a better-configured space is not an option.

[AllenAnalog]

Moving the organ is simply not economically feasible given the way it is built into the building and the sheer cubic volume of the pipe chambers. And a huge cubic volume for the listening space is also needed for an organ of this size.

The Wyncote Foundation, probably the largest funder of organ preservation and restoration projects in the country, is bankrolling much of the work in Atlantic City. So they are extremely unlikely to have the additional resources to relocate the Wanamaker organ even if there were a venue large enough to accommodate it.

The great Austin pipe organ built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific exhibition in San Francisco (and later installed in their Civic Center) has been in storage for years. It was almost totally restored by Austin after being damaged by an earthquake.

Despite the heroic efforts of a motivated civic group over many years, no venue has been found that would accept the organ. It has been offered for free via the Organ Clearing House to anyone who will keep it intact as a musical instrument. No takers.

[myorgan]

As usual, I missed the significance of the date when we visited the organ on its 100^th anniversary concerts, and being there when the Wurlitzer was unveiled for a silent film (ciphers and all) the same weekend in Greek Hall. I seem to be clueless when I have an opportunity to hear a significant instrument–often until years later. Even though we ran into people we knew!

Macy's has been closing stores for a few years now. Not more than 6-7 ago, we lost our local Macy's, and the nearest store is more than 100 miles away. Other stores came in, and the void was filled, but it was not the same. Just different. Hopefully, the historic Wanamaker's building will find another owner that will prove more profitable, and maybe even a better landlord than Macy's. Who knows?

Here's to better days coming (I hope)!

Michael

P.S. Larry, thank you for the insider information you shared. It gives me a greater appreciation for our experience of the 100^th anniversary there. Alas, we've never experienced a Christmas show (yet?).

[don60]

I think the best case for the Wanamaker organ would be a new civic auditorium of some type with chambers purpose-built for this instrument. Obviously, government money would be needed to make such a dream come true, but private involvement would be essential in preventing a loss of interest from elected officials and a subsequent deterioration of the organ.

Maybe a similar outcome will yet occur for the San Francisco Austin. I was not aware that it was languishing in storage. At least it is not in the dump.

[Admin]

Here's an article with some speculation on what the Wanamaker building will become after Macy's closes based upon comments from the building's owner, NY firm TF Cornerstone. If true, extensive renovation and space conversion will likely keep the organ silent for some time, although the organ is not mentioned in the article.

When Macy’s closes in the spring, TFC plans to begin the transformation of the 114-year-old landmark from retail and predominantly vacant office space into a mixed-use anchor for Center City, with new entertainment and fitness outlets, shopping, office, and loft apartments all under one roof,” the company said in an unsigned statement.

Click description text below to read full story.

[Admin]

References and discussion of Allen Video Quality have been moved to its own topic https://organforum.com/forums/forum/...-video-quality.

[Admin]

Philadephia City Press conference on the closing of Macy's

[you795a]

Here's a news article from a local TV station in Philadelphia.

[Admin]

Many of the reports on the Macy's closing, including the new conference video above in post #12, optimistically point to a revitalization of the Center City Marketplace area being led by the construction of a new downtown stadium for the 76ers. Well, breaking news, that isn't going to happen.
76ers abandon arena plan in surprising pivot, will keep sharing South Philly home with Flyers, per reports - CBSSports.com

[AllenAnalog]

More news from the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ website:

“TF Cornerstone recognizes the historical and cultural significance of the organ in the Wanamaker Building. Our company has a long history in New York as a partner to Carnegie Hall and understands the way music resonates through a city. We are committed to the preservation of the organ and ensuring it remains a cherished part of the space. We are arranging to meet with the Friends of the Organ and look forward to working closely with them, Macy’s and other stakeholders to determine the best path forward for the organ’s future care and stewardship.”

https://wanamakerorgan.com/