Wanamaker Organ facts for kids
The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ is a huge musical instrument. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This amazing pipe organ is the second largest in the world. It has a massive number of pipes and is very heavy. You can find the Wanamaker Organ inside the beautiful 7-story Grand Court. This court is part of the John Wanamaker Store, which is now a Macy's. The organ used to play twice a day, Monday through Saturday. It also played during special concerts throughout the year.
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What Makes This Organ Special?
The Wanamaker Organ is famous for its size. It has 28,762 pipes! These pipes are part of 464 different groups, called ranks. This organ is designed to sound like a full orchestra. It mixes traditional organ sounds with the many colors of a symphony orchestra.
The organ's control panel is called a organ console. It has six keyboards and many buttons. These buttons control all the different sounds the organ can make. One part of the organ is called the String Division. It is the biggest single organ room in the world. This section has eighty-eight groups of string pipes. These pipes were specially made to sound like string instruments.
People love the organ's orchestra-like sound. Its pipes are made to play softer than usual. This allows many different pipe sounds to blend together richly. The organ was also built with amazing skill. It uses high-quality materials to create a truly special instrument.
The Wanamaker Store even had its own organ factory. This factory made sure the organ was built perfectly. Two special workers, called curators, always took care of the organ. This is why it is one of the best-kept organs anywhere. This care continued even when the store changed owners. The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ group also helped. They raised money for important restoration work. This work continued until 2025.
A Look at Its History
The Wanamaker Organ was first built for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. It was meant to be the biggest organ ever. It was designed to sound like a complete orchestra. The organ even had an automatic player. This player used punched paper rolls to play music. Building it cost a lot of money, about $105,000 in 1904. That's a huge amount of money today! The Fair started in April 1904. But the organ wasn't fully ready until June 9. A famous organist named Alexandre Guilmant played many concerts on it later that year.
After the Fair, the organ was supposed to go to Kansas City Convention Center. But that plan didn't work out. The company that built the organ went out of business. There was also a plan to show the organ at Coney Island in New York City. But that didn't happen either.
The organ sat in storage until 1909. Then, John Wanamaker bought it for his new department store. The store was in Center City, Philadelphia. It took thirteen train cars to move the organ. It took two years to put it all together in the store. The organ played for the first time on June 22, 1911. This was the same day King George V was crowned in Britain. Later that year, U.S. President William Howard Taft dedicated the store.
Even though it had over 10,000 pipes, it wasn't loud enough. It couldn't fill the huge seven-story Grand Court. So, Wanamaker's opened its own organ factory. This factory was in the store's attic! Their job was to make the organ even bigger. They added 8,000 pipes between 1911 and 1917.
Wanamaker's held many special concerts on the organ. These concerts happened after the store closed. In 1919, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra played with organist Charles M. Courboin. All the store counters were moved for this free event. About 15,000 people came from all over the United States. More concerts followed, bringing famous organists to America.
From 1922 to 1928, the store had its own radio station, WOO. Music from the organ was a big part of its broadcasts.
In 1924, a new project began to make the organ even larger. Rodman Wanamaker, John Wanamaker's son, asked experts to dream big. He told them there was no limit to the money they could spend. This led to the famous String Division. It is the largest organ room ever built. It is 67 feet long, 26 feet deep, and 16 feet high. During this time, the organ's current console was built. It has six keyboards and hundreds of controls. By 1930, the organ had 28,482 pipes. It might have been even bigger if Rodman Wanamaker hadn't passed away in 1928.
Rodman Wanamaker cared about quality, not just size. He wanted beautiful pipes and parts. The Wanamaker Organ console is a work of art itself. It is strong, well-built, and has many clever features. Wanamaker also had a collection of 60 rare stringed instruments. These were used with the store organs.
In 1995, the store was sold to The May Department Stores Company. The Wanamaker name was removed. But the organ and its concerts stayed. The May Company started a full restoration of the organ in 1997. The store area was made smaller. Glass panels were added around the Grand Court. This made the room's sound much better.
The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to the Grand Court on September 27, 2008. They played a special concert. It included music by Joseph Jongen and Bach. Howard Shore, who composed music for The Lord of the Rings films, also wrote a new piece. This concert helped raise money for the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ.
In 2019, the organ's front, called the facade, was restored. It was re-covered in 22-karat gold. This made it look like its original design. Macy's and other groups helped pay for this project. The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ oversaw the work.
In January 2025, Macy's announced it would close many stores. This included the Center City location. The future of the organ is currently unknown. However, it is a National Historic Landmark. This means it cannot be taken down or moved. The organ's last performance was on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
Organists Who Played Here
Many famous organists have played special concerts on this organ. But only four people have been the main organist:
- Dr. Irvin J. Morgan (1911–1917)
- Mary E. Vogt (1917–1966)
- Dr. Keith Chapman (1966–1989)
- Peter Richard Conte (1989–2025)
Dr. Charles M. Courboin also played many evening concerts. He even worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Assistant Organists
Some other talented organists who have helped include:
- Dr. Richard L. Elliott
- Ken Cowan
- Nathan Laube
- Michael Stairs
Current Organ Curator
- Curt Mangel III
Music for the Wanamaker Organ
Many composers have written or arranged music for this special organ.
Original Songs
- Premiére Symphonie "Passion" en ré mineur pour Grand-Orgue by Marcel Dupré.
- Concerto Gregorian by Pietro Yon.
- Concerto Romano by Alfredo Casella.
- Dedicace by Louis Vierne, for Rodman Wanamaker.
- Symphonie Concertante for organ and orchestra by Joseph Jongen.
- Fanfare and Procession by Keith Chapman.
- "A Highland Ayre" from "Scottish Folk Tone Poems" by Richard Purvis.
- Cathedral of Commerce by Robert Hebble.
Arrangements of Other Music
Organists have also arranged many famous pieces for the Wanamaker Organ:
- "Come Sweet Death" by J. S. Bach, arranged by Virgil Fox.
- Leopold Stokowski's arrangement of Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor.
- Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition arranged by Keith Chapman.
- Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- Nicolai's Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- Elgar's Cockaigne Overture arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- Bernstein's "Overture to Candide" arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- Elgar's Enigma Variations arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- "Der Rosenkavalier Suite" arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
- Arthur Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard Overture arranged by Peter Richard Conte.
How the Organ is Built
The organ's pipes are spread out over five floors of the building. Different sections are on different levels:
- The second floor south holds the Main Pedal, Lower Swell, Great, and Percussions.
- The third floor south has the Main Pedal, Chorus, Upper Swell, Choir/Enclosed Great, Solo, and Vox Humana Chorus.
- The fourth floor south is home to the String Division.
- The fourth floor west contains the Orchestral section.
- The seventh floor south has the Major Chimes, Ethereal, and Chinese Gong.
- The seventh floor north holds the Echo section.
Some of the largest pipes, like the 32 ft Wood Open, are taller than two stories! They start on the second floor.
Recordings You Can Listen To
Many recordings have been made of the Wanamaker Organ:
- The Grand Court Organ (1973) by Keith Chapman.
- Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (1975) by Keith Chapman.
- Airs & Arabesques (1976) showed the organ's softer sounds.
- Virgil Fox Plays the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ (1964, 2004).
- Keith Chapman – The Lost Radio Broadcasts.
- Xaver Varnus' concert.
- Magic! (2001) By Peter Richard Conte.
- Wanamaker Legacy (2004) by Peter Richard Conte.
- A Grand Celebration: Peter Richard Conte with The Philadelphia Orchestra (2008).
- Wanamaker Organ Centennial Concert: Peter Richard Conte with the Symphony in C (2011).
- Midnight in the Grand Court (2004) by Peter Richard Conte.
- Christmas in the Grand Tradition by Peter Richard Conte.
- My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice by Peter Richard Conte.
- Around the Wanamaker Organ in 80 Minutes, a DVD tour of the organ.
- A Wanamaker Organ Curators Tour on DVD with curator Curt Mangel.
- A Wanamaker Organ Sonic Odyssey on DVD with Peter Richard Conte.
See also
In Spanish: Órgano Wanamaker para niños
- Curtis Organ
- Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ
