Philadelphia’s Macy’s will close. I could care less about the business, which was but a wraith lurking in distant shadows cast by the glory days of the Department Store. However, the space also happens to house the world’s largest fully functional pipe organ. Originally built for the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, the instrument was tripled in size when brought to Philadelphia by John Wanamaker, the better to suit the grandeur of his new department store at 13th and Market Streets, then regarded as an architectural marvel.
The organ quickly gained international renown. Marcel Dupré, Louis Vierne, and Nadia Boulanger all played on it. The Philadelphia Orchestra ventured from the Academy of Music and later the Kimmel Center to perform concerts with it. Among the music written specifically for the instrument is Joseph Jongen’s “Symphonie Concertante,” which must be one of the most frequently played large-scale works for organ and orchestra in existence.
The organ is historically protected, but will anyone be able to hear it? Moreover, will whatever entity takes over the space be legally bound to maintain it? The Wanamaker Friends and Fans Facebook page urges everyone to rein in the negativity and cynicism, as all parties work diplomatically and professionally toward a satisfactory transition to whatever it is the future may hold for this irreplaceable civic and cultural asset.
