The Grand Court Eagle
Handmade in Frankfurt, Germany, the bronze Wanamaker Eagle weighs 2,500 pounds and sits on a granite base in the Grand Court. The floor of the Grand Court had to be strengthened with girders to support it. 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 the saying “Meet me at the Eagle.”
The Wanamaker Building
John Wanamaker pioneered the department store concept in Philadelphia when he founded Wanamaker's in 1866. Wanamaker's was the first department store to guarantee a refund policy and to be illuminated by electricity. In 1911, the lavish store became the first of its kind when Mr. Wanamaker built a 12-floor building for its new location. The building was dedicated by President William Howard Taft on December 30 of that year.
Wanamaker Grand Court Organ
With nearly 28,500 pipes, the recently restored Grand Court Organ is the largest playable instrument in the world. Wanamaker purchased it in 1909, when it was known as the St. Louis World’s Fair Pipe Organ, and it was installed in the Grand Court of the Wanamaker building several years later. A National Historic Landmark since 1980, the organ's six manuals and plethora of pipes give it the capabilities of three symphony orchestras. Grand Court Organ concerts are performed twice daily, Monday through Saturday.