Macy’s is closing. What happens to the organ?
UncategorizedThe Wanamaker Building’s branch of Macy’s in Philadelphioa is being shut down.
Happily, its historic pipe organ will be saved. The Inquirer reports:
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 eagle statue and organ, is one of only five interiors that are protected in Philadelphia.
Wikipedia on the organ:
The Wanamaker Organ is the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world, based on the number of playing pipes, the number of ranks and its weight. It is a concert organ of the American Symphonic school of design, which combines traditional organ tone with the sonic colors of the symphony orchestra. In its present configuration, the instrument has 28,750 pipes in 464 ranks.
The organ console consists of six manuals with an array of stops and controls that command the organ. The organ’s String Division fills the largest single organ chamber in the world. The division features eighty-eight ranks of string pipes built to Wanamaker specifications by the W.W. Kimball Company of Chicago.
The organ is famed for its orchestra-like sound, coming from pipes that are voiced softer than usual, allowing an unusually rich build-up because of the massing of pipe-tone families. The organ was also built and enlarged as an “art organ”, using exceptional craftsmanship and lavish application of materials to create a luxury product.
Rememeber when shopping was a musical experience?
Who cares? A run-down, long past its prime store in an ugly, dirty part of an ugly, dirty city. The organ is distant, and usually played haltingly at mezzo forte
Not exactly the sort of thing to wring hands over, though I’m sure a few oddballs will pop up to do just that
If you do not feel joy hearing this magnificent instrument being played in this magnificent space in the heart of this magnificent city then I feel sad for you.
Good news thar the organ will be saved, but what will the building be used for? The organ may be kept intact but how often will it be played in future? Does its protected status just mean it won’t be destroyed, or does it have to be kept in fully functioning condition? An instrument of such size will be expensive to maintain, will whoever takes the building over be prepared to meet those costs, or will it just gather dust and eventually cease to function?
Friends of the Wanamaker Organ is a non profit group, not connected to Macys, which helps fund the maintenance of the organ. Their budget is in the neighborhood of $500K per year.
Oh, what a real pity… being in that store when the organ starts to play is a surreal joy.. the closest thing to British eccentricity in USA! How sad. What will happen to the building now I wonder.
Isn’t that where Richard Strauss conducted a concert?
How much longer will Organ concerts be offered.
People are way too optimistic about the fate of the building and organ.
In the United States, historic preservation laws are ignored all of the time.
Further, the law doesn’t require the building owner to keep the organ in working condition. No government agency is going to come in and regularly inspect it to ensure it’s fully functional.
Well… I imagine that like any other musical instrument, it requires the consistent employment of proficient & musical musicians to provide the worthwhile experience. But this sounds cool enough that I’d check it out once to hear what has been created (& hope the presentation shows the best of the artifact).