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All the United States Pennsylvania Philadelphia Wanamaker Grand Court Organ

Wanamaker Grand Court Organ

The sounds of the world's largest fully functioning pipe organ dazzle shoppers at a Philadelphia Macy's.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Added By
Ann Elkington
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Detail of Wanamaker Organ.   Difference engine/CC BY-SA 4.0
The Wanamaker Organ in the Philadelphia Macy’s.   Benjamin Dahlhoff/CC BY-SA 3.0
The console.   Megodenas/CC BY-SA 3.0
A commemorative plaque near the organ.   Peetlesnumber1/CC BY-SA 3.0
Wanamaker Organ in its original home, the 1904 World’s Fair.   Adambiswanger1/Public Domain
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  icatsstaci / Atlas Obscura User
  fignewton / Atlas Obscura User
Wanamaker Grand Court Organ   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Grand Court Organ   JulsMaya / Atlas Obscura User
Wanamaker Grand Court Organ   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
  shurayukihime / Atlas Obscura User
  michaelnhartman / Atlas Obscura User
Console   turnerterry / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the guts of the organ  
All dressed up for Christmas in 2022   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Upon entering the Macy’s Center City store from the street, it seems like a perfectly nice early 20th-century department store. Walk in a bit farther, and the main hall opens to reveal a soaring space seven stories high with an ornate ceiling and balustraded galleries at each level. But what truly defines this space is the magnificent pipe organ.

The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ is the world’s largest fully playable musical instrument. It boasts nearly 29,000 pipes and was built to imitate an entire full-sized orchestra.

The behemoth instrument was first played on June 22, 1911 and has been played regularly since. Nearly every day, a professional plays it once in the morning and once in the evening. At those moments, the sounds of Bach, Handel, and other composers fill the great hall. People specifically pop into the store to hear the organ in action, though there are some shoppers who carry on as if they aren’t being treated to a free concert.

The organ was built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company for the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair. John Wanamaker purchased it in 1909 for his department store, which Macy’s eventually took over. Moving the instrument to Philadelphia required 13 freight cars and installing it took two years.

 

Related Tags

Music Stores World's Fair World's Largest Sounds

Know Before You Go

http://www.wanamakerorgan.com/events.php

Community Contributors

Added By

AWElkington

Edited By

daphnegoldman, fignewton, Jaszmina Szendrey, Kerry Wolfe...

  • daphnegoldman
  • fignewton
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • Kerry Wolfe
  • icatsstaci
  • Collector of Experiences
  • shurayukihime
  • JulsMaya
  • michaelnhartman
  • Matthew H Ward
  • blimpcaptain
  • turnerterry
  • mikezeebs

Published

November 20, 2017

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  • I didn’t rely on a website; I was told much of this by an employee, and read the rest on store plaques.
  • http://www.wanamakerorgan.com/
Wanamaker Grand Court Organ
1300 Market St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
39.951903, -75.161795
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