Philadelphia

Handmade in Frankfurt, Germany, the bronze Wanamaker Eagle weighs 2,500 pounds and sits on a granite base in the Grand Court. There are 1,600 sculpted feathers on the head alone, and 5,000 on the entire Eagle. This famous bird began the long-beloved Philadelphia tradition of a Center City rendezvous initiated by saying “Meet me at the Eagle.”

John Wanamaker pioneered the department store concept in Philadelphia when he founded Wanamaker's in 1866. It was the first department store to guarantee a refund policy and to be illuminated by electricity. In 1911, the store became the first of its kind when Mr. Wanamaker built a lavish new 12-floor building, dedicated by President William Howard Taft on December 30.

With nearly 28,500 pipes, the Grand Court Organ is the world’s largest playable instrument. Wanamaker purchased it in 1909 and it was installed in the Grand Court of the Wanamaker building several years later. A National Historic Landmark since 1980, the organ's manuals and pipes give it the capabilities of three symphony orchestras. Concerts are performed twice a day, Monday-Saturday.  

Handmade in Frankfurt, Germany, the bronze Wanamaker Eagle weighs 2,500 pounds and sits on a granite base in the Grand Court. There are 1,600 sculpted feathers on the head alone, and 5,000 on the entire Eagle. This famous bird began the long-beloved Philadelphia tradition of a Center City rendezvous initiated by saying “Meet me at the Eagle.”

John Wanamaker pioneered the department store concept in Philadelphia when he founded Wanamaker's in 1866. It was the first department store to guarantee a refund policy and to be illuminated by electricity. In 1911, the store became the first of its kind when Mr. Wanamaker built a lavish new 12-floor building, dedicated by President William Howard Taft on December 30.

With nearly 28,500 pipes, the Grand Court Organ is the world’s largest playable instrument. Wanamaker purchased it in 1909 and it was installed in the Grand Court of the Wanamaker building several years later. A National Historic Landmark since 1980, the organ's manuals and pipes give it the capabilities of three symphony orchestras. Concerts are performed twice a day, Monday-Saturday.