The Wanamaker Building

The Wanamaker Building in Philadelphia houses the world's largest fully functioning pipe organ in its seven-story atrium. This monumental instrument, known as the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, was originally built in 1904 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. After the original construction firm ran into financial difficulties, the Los Angeles Art Organ Company took over the project, which John Wanamaker finally purchased in 1909. Transported in 13 freight cars, the organ was installed in the new department store over the following two years and formally dedicated on June 22, 1911. Since then, the instrument has been expanded several times to enhance its distinctive, orchestral sound, which comes from an enormous number of softly voiced pipes.

Today the organ has 28,750 pipes in 464 ranks and 376 stops, spread across five floors. The freestanding console has six manuals and a pedalboard. Particularly noteworthy is the String Division, which rests on the largest windchest in the world and was built by the W. W. Kimball Company. The technical system is complex and includes several blower motors that produce different wind pressures. The instrument weighs 287 tons in total. Historically, the organ was a central part of the store's operations: it was played publicly every week, and at major concerts, sometimes together with the Philadelphia Orchestra, it drew up to 15,000 listeners to the atrium.

The department store, which most recently operated under the name Macy's, closed in March 2025. As a result, the future of the building and the instrument is uncertain. The nonprofit organization The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, funded by donations and media sales, is working to preserve and restore the organ. The group publishes the magazine The Stentor four times a year, reporting on restoration progress and announcing concerts. Despite the closure of the store, the organ remains an architectural and musical one-of-a-kind, and its fate now depends on the efforts of its supporters.