https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker_Organ Jump to content [ ] Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation * Main page * Contents * Current events * Random article * About Wikipedia * Contact us Contribute * Help * Learn to edit * Community portal * Recent changes * Upload file * Special pages [wikipe] Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia Search [ ] Search [ ] Appearance * Donate * Create account * Log in [ ] Personal tools * Donate * Create account * Log in Contents move to sidebar hide * (Top) * 1 Notable characteristics * 2 History Toggle History subsection + 2.1 Organists + 2.2 Noteworthy assistant organists + 2.3 Present curator + 2.4 Music inspired by or written for the Wanamaker Organ o 2.4.1 Original compositions o 2.4.2 Arrangements of existing music * 3 Architectural layout * 4 Stoplist Toggle Stoplist subsection + 4.1 Main Organ + 4.2 Ethereal Organ + 4.3 Echo Organ + 4.4 Orchestral Organ + 4.5 String Organ + 4.6 Stentor Division + 4.7 Percussion Division * 5 Recordings * 6 See also * 7 Notes and references * 8 External links [ ] Toggle the table of contents Wanamaker Organ [ ] 5 languages * Cestina * Deutsch * Espanol * Francais * Russkii Edit links * Article * Talk [ ] English * Read * Edit * View history [ ] Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions * Read * Edit * View history General * What links here * Related changes * Upload file * Permanent link * Page information * Cite this page * Get shortened URL * Download QR code Print/export * Download as PDF * Printable version In other projects * Wikimedia Commons * Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide Coordinates: 39deg57'05''N 75deg09'44''W / 39.9515degN 75.1622degW / 39.9515; -75.1622 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia World's largest fully functioning pipe organ [250px-Detail_of_Wanamaker_Organ]The display pipes of the Wanamaker Organ. These pipes are decorative only. The pipes that sound are behind and above them. Store architect Daniel Hudson Burnham designed the organ casework.^[1]^[2] The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world, based on the number of playing pipes, the number of ranks and its weight. The Wanamaker Organ is located within a spacious 7-story Grand Court at the John Wanamaker Store (originally Wanamaker's and most recently Macy's) and was played twice a day Monday through Saturday. The organ was featured at several special concerts held throughout the year, including events featuring the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Festival Chorus and Brass Ensemble. Notable characteristics [edit] The Wanamaker Organ is the largest pipe organ in the world when measured by the number of ranks and its weight.^[3]^[4] 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 28,762 pipes in 465 ranks.^[5] 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.^[5] 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 beyond what is generally commercially available. There is a minimum of borrowing and unification in its disciplined design, except in the Pedal and Orchestral divisions, where it adds genuine value, and duplexing is reserved for when valuable solo voices can be separated from their divisions without tying up the remaining tonal resources of said division. Choruses (16', 8', 4') are true choruses of three ranks, each with their own personality, rather than a single rank electrically "tapped" at three pitches, with the resulting weakening of the octaves and sameness of tone between the voices as found in unification.^[6] The Wanamaker Store maintained its own organ workshop on site to ensure an ultra-high-grade result. The artistic obligation entailed by the creation of this instrument has always been honored, with two curators employed in its constant and scrupulous care (which leads to its status as one of the best maintained organs in the world). This dedication was enhanced when corporate parentage shifted from the Wanamaker family to Carter Hawley Hale Stores followed by Woodward & Lothrop, The May Department Stores Company, and Lord & Taylor. When the space was occupied by Macy's and with the founding of the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ with its input of outside capital, an aggressive restoration schedule developed and is yet maintained. History [edit] [250px-WanamakerBuilding2]The Wanamaker Organ centennial plaque The Wanamaker Organ was originally built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company, successors to the Murray M. Harris Organ Co., for the Kansas City Convention Hall. Before it was placed there, it was exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. It was designed to be the largest organ in the world, an imitation of a full-size orchestra with particularly complete resources of full organ tone including mixtures. In addition to its console, the organ was originally equipped with an automatic player that used punched rolls of paper, according to the Los Angeles Times of 1904.^[7] It was built to a specification by renowned organ theorist and architect George Ashdown Audsley. Wild cost overruns plagued the project, with the result that Harris was ousted from his own company. With capital from stockholder Eben Smith, it was reorganized as the Los Angeles Art Organ Company, and finished at a cost of $105,000 (equal to $3,674,611 today), $40,000 over budget, equal to $1,399,852 today. The Fair began (in late April 1904) before the organ was fully installed in its temporary home, Festival Hall. Although the organ's debut was scheduled for May 1, official fair organist and St. Louis local Charles Henry Galloway did not give his opening recital until June 9. The organ was still not entirely finished in September of that year, when Alexandre Guilmant, one of the most famous organists of the day, presented 40 very well-attended recitals on the organ. Following the Fair, the organ was intended for permanent installation at the Kansas City Convention Center. Indeed, the original console had a prominent "KC" on its music rack. This venture failed, saddling the L. A. Art Organ company with debt after the Fair closed. The firm was reorganized as the Electrolian Company under principal shareholder Eben Smith.There was a plan to exhibit the organ at Coney Island in New York City, but nothing came of this. [250px-Wanamaker_Organ_1904]The organ in its original place of exhibition, the 1904 World's Fair. This facade was formerly installed at Macy's, it used to be behind the current facade. The organ languished in storage at the Handlan warehouse in St. Louis until 1909, when it was bought by John Wanamaker for his new department store at 13th and Market Streets in Center City, Philadelphia. It took thirteen freight cars to move it to its new home, and two years for installation. It was first played on June 22, 1911, at the exact moment when British King George V was crowned. It was also featured later that year when U.S. President William Howard Taft dedicated the store. Despite its then-unprecedented size (more than 10,000 pipes), it was judged inadequate to fill the seven-story Grand Court in which it was located, so Wanamaker's opened a private organ workshop in the store attic, which was charged with enlarging the organ. The first project to enlarge the organ was the addition of 8,000 pipes between 1911 and 1917. Wanamaker's sponsored many historic after-business-hours concerts on the Wanamaker Organ. The first, in 1919, featured Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra with organist Charles M. Courboin.^[5] Every sales counter and fixture was removed for the free after-hours event, which attracted an audience of 15,000 from across the United States. Subsequently, more of these "Musicians' Assemblies" were held, as were private recitals. For these events Wanamaker's opened a Concert Bureau under Alexander Russell and brought to America master organists Marcel Dupre and Louis Vierne, Nadia Boulanger, Marco Enrico Bossi, Alfred Hollins, and several others. (This agency, which worked in partnership with Canadian Bernard R. LaBerge, evolved into the Karen McFarlane Concert Agency of the present day.) During his first recital on the organ, Dupre was so impressed with the instrument that he was inspired to improvise a musical depiction of the life of Jesus Christ. This was later published as his Symphonie-Passion. From April 24, 1922, to 1928 the store had its own radio station, WOO , and music from the organ was a major feature of the broadcasts.^[8] In 1924, a new project to enlarge the organ began. Marcel Dupre and Charles M. Courboin were among those asked by Rodman Wanamaker, John Wanamaker's son, to "Work together to draw up a plan for the instrument. Use everything you have ever dreamed about." They were told there was no limit to the budget. This project resulted in, among other things, the celebrated String Division, which occupies the largest organ chamber ever constructed, 67 feet long, 26 feet deep, and 16 feet high (22 by 9 by 5 m). During this project, the organ's current console was constructed in Wanamaker's private in-house pipe-organ workshop, with six manuals and several hundred controls. By 1930, when work on expanding the organ finally stopped, the organ had 28,482 pipes, and, if Rodman Wanamaker had not died in 1928, the organ would probably be even bigger.^[9] Plans were made for, among others, a Stentor division, a section of high-pressure diapasons and reeds. It was to be installed on the fifth floor, above the String Division, and would be playable from the sixth manual. However, it was never funded, and the sixth manual is now used to couple other divisions or play various solo voices from other divisions that are duplexed to this keyboard.^[10] [500px-ConsoleOrgueWanamaker]The organ's six-manual console Rodman Wanamaker was not interested in mere size, however, but in artistic organ-building with finely crafted pipes and chests using the best materials and careful artistic consideration. The Wanamaker Organ console, built in the store organ shop by William Boone Fleming, is a work of art in its own right with heavy, durable construction, an ingenious layout of its pneumatic stop action and many unique features and conveniences. Wanamaker also had a collection of 60 rare stringed instruments, the Wanamaker Cappella, that were used in conjunction with the store organs in Philadelphia and New York, and went on tour. They were dispersed after his death. Following the sale of the store to The May Department Stores Company, in 1995, the Wanamaker's name was removed from the store (first as Wanamaker-Hecht's) in favor of Hecht's, but the organ and its concerts were retained. During the local renaming of the Hecht's stores to Strawbridge's, the historic Wanamaker Store briefly took the name of its longtime rival Strawbridge's. The May Company began a complete restoration of the organ in 1997, as part of the store's final May Co. conversion into a Lord & Taylor. At that time the store area was reduced to three floors and additional panes of glass were put around the Grand Court on floors four and five, greatly enhancing the reverberation of the room. [250px-Wanamakers_Organ_at_Macys_Ph]The Wanamaker Organ in the Grand Court The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to the Grand Court on September 27, 2008, for the premiere performance of Joseph Jongen's Symphonie Concertante (1926) on the organ for which it was written. The ticketed event, featuring soloist Peter Richard Conte, also included the Bach/Stokowski arrangement of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Marcel Dupre's Cortege and Litany for Organ and Orchestra, and the world premiere of a Fanfare by Howard Shore, composer for The Lord of the Rings films. Shore visited the store in May 2008 to meet with Peter Richard Conte and hear the Wanamaker Organ. The Philadelphia Orchestra Concert was co-sponsored by the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ and was a benefit for that organization.^[11] In 2019 the Wanamaker Organ facade, designed by Daniel Hudson Burnham , was restored and re-gilded in 22-karat gold to a color scheme close in sympathy to its original appearance but which fits in with its new surroundings. Evergreene Architectural Arts did the work. Grant money from Macy's and several Philadelphia area charities funded this project, which was overseen by the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ. In January 2025, Macy's announced the closing of 66 stores by March 2025^[12] which included the Center City location where the organ is located.^[13] The organ is protected as a National Historic Landmark and cannot be taken down or moved.^[14]^[15] The new owner of the building, TF Cornerstone, has stated that it is "committed to the preservation of the organ and ensuring it remains a cherished part of the space."^[16] As of October 2025, the organ is performed in occasional concerts open to the public.^[17] Organists [edit] Although numerous famous organists have played special concerts on the organ, it has had only four chief organists in its history: * Dr. Irvin J. Morgan (1911-1917) * Mary E. Vogt (1917-1966)^[8] * Dr. Keith Chapman (1966-1989) * Peter Richard Conte (1989-present) For about a decade beginning in 1919, Dr. Charles M. Courboin was the organist for a series of special evening concerts, including several collaborations with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Courboin also headed the Wanamaker Organ Shop in the late 1920s. Noteworthy assistant organists [edit] * Dr. Richard L. Elliott (Chapman)^[18] * Ken Cowan (Conte)^[citation needed] * Nathan Laube (Conte)^[citation needed] * Michael Stairs (Chapman, Conte) Present curator [edit] * Curt Mangel III Music inspired by or written for the Wanamaker Organ [edit] Original compositions [edit] * Premiere Symphonie "Passion" en re mineur pour Grand-Orgue, op. 23 by Marcel Dupre. Originally improvised. * Concerto Gregoriano by Pietro Yon * Concerto Romano by Alfredo Casella * Dedicace by Louis Vierne, dedicated to 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 (written for the Wanamaker Organ at the request of Keith Chapman) * Cathedral of Commerce by Robert Hebble Arrangements of existing music [edit] * "Come Sweet Death" by J. S. Bach, arranged after Stokowski by Virgil Fox^[19] * Leopold Stokowski's organ-orchestra transcription of Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor * Transcription of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition by Keith Chapman * Transcription of Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of Nicolai's Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of Elgar's Cockaigne Overture by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of Bernstein's "Overture to Candide" by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of the Elgar Enigma Variations by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of "Der Rosenkavalier Suite" by Peter Richard Conte * Transcription of Arthur Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard Overture by Peter Richard Conte * Improvisation on a Stokowski-theme by Xaver Varnus^[20] Architectural layout [edit] The pipes are laid out across the space occupied by five floors of the building, with the sections situated as follows: * 2nd floor south - Main Pedal 32 ft, Lower Swell, Great, Percussions * 3rd floor south - Main Pedal, Chorus, Upper Swell, Choir/Enclosed Great, Solo, Vox Humana Chorus * 4th floor south - String * 4th floor west - Orchestral (adjacent to String) * 7th floor south - Major Chimes, Ethereal, Chinese Gong * 7th floor north - Echo The 32 ft Wood Open, 32 ft Diaphone, and 32 ft Metal Diapason pipes run the length of a little more than 2 stories, beginning on the second floor.^[5] Stoplist [edit] Main Organ [edit] Pedal(C-g1 - 32 III Swell(C-c4 - 61 pipes) pipes) ----------------- II Great(C-c4 - 61 ------------------- Gravissima 64 ft pipes) Double 16 ft Contra 32 ft ------------------- Diapason Diaphone Unenclosed Soft Bourdon 16 ft First Great Stentorphone 8 ft Contra 32 ft Sub 32 ft Horn Diapason 8 ft Open Principal Violin 8 ft Diapason Contra Gamba 16 ft Diapason Second Double 16 ft Bell Flute 8 ft IV Solo(C-c4 - Contra 32 ft Diapason Orchestral 8 ft 61 pipes) Open Sub Quint 10+2/3 Flute ---------------- Diapason ft Harmonic 8 ft Double Contra 32 ft Diapason 8 ft Flute Open 16 ft Bourdon Phonon Grand Flute 8 ft Diapason Diaphone 16 ft Diapason 8 ft (2 ranks) Grand Viol 16 ft First Open 16 ft Major Double Flute 8 ft First 8 ft Diapason First 8 ft Tibia Dura 8 ft Diapason Second I Choir(C-c4 - Diapason Clarabella 8 ft Second 8 ft Open 16 ft 61 pipes) Second 8 ft Melodia 8 ft Diapason Diapason -------------- Diapason Soft Dulciana 8 ft Third 8 ft Third Open 16 ft Double 16 Third 8 ft Gamba Celeste 8 ft Diapason Diapason Dulciana ft Diapason (2 ranks) Violin 8 ft Bourdon 16 ft Dulciana 8 Fourth 8 ft Gamba 8 ft Diapason Violone 16 ft ft Diapason Quint Bourdon 5+1/3 Viol 8 ft Gamba 16 ft Open 8 Gamba (2 8 ft ft Viol 8 ft Open Flute 16 ft Diapason ft ranks) Harmonic Harmonic 8 ft Soft 16 ft Violin 8 Major Tibia 8 ft Flute (2 4 ft Flute Bourdon Diapason ft Mezzo Tibia 8 ft ranks) Tierce Dulciana 16 ft Stopped 8 Minor Tibia 8 ft First Octave 4 ft Flute (2 8 ft Open Quint 10+2/3 Diapason ft Double Flute 8 ft Second Octave 4 ft ranks) ft Concert 8 Nasard Flute 8 ft Nazard 2+2/3 Chimney 8 ft Stopped 10+2/3 Flute ft (2 ranks) (prepared ft Flute Quint ft Salicional 8 Octave 4 ft for) Clarabella 8 ft Stentor 8 ft ft Mixture VIII Harmonic 2 ft Gemshorn 8 ft Open 8 ft Quintadena 8 Harmonic 8 ft Piccolo Nasard Diapason ft Trumpet Corroborating Gamba (2 8 ft Octave 8 ft Vox 8 Enclosed Mixture V ranks) First 8 ft Angelica ft Great Mixture VI Grand 8 ft Tibia Vox Celeste 8 Covered 8 ft Bass Tuba 16 ft Gamba Second 8 ft ft Tibia Bass Trombone 16 ft Grand 8 ft Tibia Keraulophon 8 Harmonic 8 ft Contra 16 ft Gamba Octave ft Flute Fagotto Quintaphon 8 ft Soft 8 ft Forest 4 Quint 5+1/3 Double Oboe 16 ft Quint 5+1/3 Bourdon Flute ft ft Horn Diapason ft First 8 ft Salicet 4 Harmonic 4 ft Trombone 8 ft Octave 4 ft Cello ft Flute Tuba 8 ft Harmonic 4 ft Second 8 ft Piccolo 2 Principal 4 ft Fagotto 8 ft Flute Cello ft Tierce 3+1/5 Oboe 8 ft Harmonic 3+1/5 Soft Flute 8 ft Soft Cornet ft Trumpet 8 ft Tierce ft Soft 8 ft VI Octave Quint 2 ft Horn 8 ft Twelfth 2+2/3 Dulciana Saxophone 16 Super Octave 2 ft Bassett Horn 8 ft Harmonic ft Principal 4 ft ft Mixture VII Clarinet 8 ft Piccolo 2 ft Octave 4 ft Saxophone 8 Double 16 ft Clarinet (2 8 ft Harmonic First 4 ft ft Trumpet ranks) Double 16 ft Tibia English 8 Tuba 8 ft Vox Humana (2 8 ft Trumpet Second 4 ft Horn ft Trumpet 8 ft ranks) Tuba 16 ft Tibia Clarinet 8 Harmonic 4 ft Harmonic 4 ft Trumpet 8 ft Flute 4 ft ft Clarion Clarion Soft Tuba 8 ft Mixture VI Great Chorus Musette 4 ft Cornopean 8 ft Mixture (73 pipes) Original Ophicleide 8 ft VII Diapason 8 ft String Musette 8 ft Mixture Magna Division Ophicleide 4 ft VIII Stentorphone 8 ft Contra Bass 16 ft Soft Tuba 4 ft Grand First 8 ft Violoncello 8 ft Grand Mutation x Diapason Viol 8 ft Mixture VI Contra 32 ft Second 8 ft Viol (sharp) 8 ft Mixture V Trombone Diapason Viola 8 ft Mixture VI Contra 32 ft Third 8 ft Quint Viol 5+1/3 Bombarde Diapason ft Bombarde 16 ft Major Flute 8 ft Octave Viol 4 ft Trombone 16 ft Double Flute 8 ft Violina 4 ft Tuba 16 ft Gamba 8 ft Tierce 3+1/5 Euphonium 16 ft Flute 4 ft ft Contra 16 ft Octave 4 ft String Fagotto Nasard 2+2/3 Mixture V Bombarde 8 ft ft Viol Cornet Octave 8 ft IV Fagotto Tromba 8 ft Clarion 4 ft Ethereal Organ [edit] V Ethereal(73) ------------------------ VI Stentor(73) Bourdon 16 ft ------------------------- First Open 8 ft Cello 1 (String) 8 Diapason ft Second Open 8 ft Cello 1 # (String) 8 Diapason ft Clear Flute 8 ft Cello 1 (String) 8 Ethereal Pedal Harmonic Flute 8 ft ft (32) Double Flute 8 ft Cello 2 (String) 8 ---------------- Quint Flute 8 ft ft Acoustic 32 Grand Gamba 8 ft Cello 2 # (String) 8 Bass ft Grand Gamba 8 ft ft Diapason 16 Octavo 4 ft Cello 2 (String) 8 ft Harmonic Flute 4 ft ft Bombarde 16 Twelfth Harmonic 2+2/3 Nasard Gamba II 8 ft ft (String) ft Bombarde 8 ft Harmonic Piccolo 2 ft Nasard Gamba II # 8 Mixture IV (String) ft Tuba Profunda 16 ft Clear Flute 8 Tuba Mirabilis 8 ft (Ethereal) ft French Trumpet 8 ft Clear Flute 4 Grand Clarinet 8 ft (Ethereal) ft Post Horn 8 ft Tuba Clarion 4 ft Echo Organ [edit] Echo(73) (floating) ----------------------------- Bourdon 16 ft Open Diapason 8 ft Violin Diapason 8 ft Stopped Diapason 8 ft Night Horn 8 ft Clarabella 8 ft Melodia 8 ft Orchestral Viol 8 ft Soft Viol 8 ft Echo Pedal(32) Soft Viol 8 ft ---------------------- Unda Maris (2 ranks) 8 ft Open Diapason 16 ft Open Quint 5+1/3 ft Stopped Diapason 16 ft Octave 4 ft Harmonic Flute 4 ft Mellow Flute 4 ft Cornet Mixture V Mixture VI Double Trumpet 16 ft Trumpet 8 ft Capped Oboe 8 ft Euphone 8 ft Vox Humana 8 ft Orchestral Organ [edit] Orchestral (73) (floating) Orchestral ------------- Reeds(73) Contra 16 (floating) Vox Humana Quintadena ft ------------- Chorus(73) Duophone 8 English 16 (floating) ft Horn ft ----------- Tibia 8 Bass 16 Vox 16 ft Clarinet ft Humana ft Covered 8 Bass 16 First 8 Tibia ft Saxophone ft Vox ft Concert 8 Bassoon 16 Orchestral Humana Flute ft ft French Horns Second 8 Vox Humana Harmonic 8 English 8 (73) Vox ft Chorus Flute ft Horn ft (floating) Humana Pedal(32) Mellow 8 Orchestral 8 -------------- Third 8 ---------- Flute ft Clarinet ft First 8 Vox ft First 16 String 8 Saxophone 8 French Horn ft Humana Vox ft Flute ft ft Second 8 Fourth 8 Humana Double 8 Orchestral 8 French Horn ft Vox ft Second 16 Flute ft Bassoon ft Third 8 Humana Vox ft Hollow 8 Bassett 8 French Horn ft Fifth 8 Humana Flute ft Horn ft Vox ft Harmonic 4 Oboe 8 Humana Flute ft ft Sixth 8 Orchestral 4 Orchestral 8 Vox ft Flute ft Oboe ft Humana Covered 4 Orchestral 8 Seventh 8 Flute ft Trumpet ft Vox ft Octave 4 Kinura 8 Humana ft ft Harmonic 2 Muted 8 Piccolo ft Cornet ft Super 2 Octave ft String Organ [edit] String(73) (floating) ------------------- Violone 16 ft First Contra 16 Gamba ft Second Contra 16 Gamba ft First Contra 16 Viol ft Second Contra 16 Viol ft First Viol 16 ft String (continued) Second Viol 16 ---------------------- ft Third Muted 8 ft Violin Diapason 8 Violin ft Third Muted 8 ft Gamba 8 Violin # ft Third Muted 8 ft Nasard Gamba (2 8 Violin ranks) ft Fourth Muted 8 ft Nasard Gamba (2 8 Violin ranks) ft Fourth Muted 8 ft First 'Cello 8 Violin # ft Fourth Muted 8 ft First 'Cello # 8 Violin ft Fifth Muted 8 ft First 'Cello 8 Violin ft Fifth Muted 8 ft Second 'Cello 8 Violin # ft Fifth Muted 8 ft Second 'Cello # 8 Violin String Pedal(32) ft Sixth Muted 8 ft ------------------------ Second 'Cello 8 Violin Contra Diaphone 32 ft ft Sixth Muted 8 ft Contra Gamba 32 ft First 8 Violin # Diaphone (ext) 16 ft Orchestral ft Sixth Muted 8 ft Gamba (ext) 16 ft Violin Violin First Violone 16 ft First 8 Quint Viol 5+1/3 Second Violone 16 ft Orchestral ft ft Viol 16 ft Violin # Quint Viol # 5+1/3 Viol # 16 ft First 8 ft Diaphone (ext) 8 ft Orchestral ft First Orchestral 4 ft Gamba (ext) 8 ft Violin Violina First Violone 8 ft Second 8 First Orchestral 4 ft (ext) Orchestral ft Violina # Second Violone 8 ft Violin Second Viol 8 ft Second 8 Orchestral 4 ft Viol # 8 ft Orchestral ft Violina Violone 4 ft Violin # Second Mutation Diaphone 16 ft Second 8 Orchestral 4 ft Mutation Viol 16 ft Orchestral ft Violina # Mutation Viol 10+2/3 Violin Tierce Viol 3+1/5 ft Third 8 ft Mutation Viol 8 ft Orchestral ft Tierce Viol # 3+1/5 Mutation Viol 5+1/3 Violin ft ft Third 8 Nasard Violina 2+2/3 Mutation Viol 4 ft Orchestral ft ft Mutation Viol 2+2/3 Violin # Nasard Violina # 2+2/3 ft Third 8 ft Mutation Viol 2 ft Orchestral ft Super Violina 2 ft Mutation Viol 1+3/5 Violin Super Violina # 2 ft ft Fourth 8 First Dulciana 8 ft Mutation Viol 1+1/3 Orchestral ft First Dulciana # 8 ft ft Violin Second Dulciana 8 ft Mutation Viol 4/5 ft Fourth 8 Second Dulciana 8 ft Grand String 32 ft Orchestral ft # Pedal Mixture XII Violin # Third Dulciana 8 ft Fourth 8 Third Dulciana # 8 ft Orchestral ft Fourth Dulciana 8 ft Violin Fourth Dulciana 8 ft Fifth 8 # Orchestral ft Fifth Dulciana 8 ft Violin Fifth Dulciana # 8 ft Fifth 8 Sixth Dulciana 8 ft Orchestral ft Sixth Dulciana # 8 ft Violin # First Octave 4 ft Fifth 8 Dulciana Orchestral ft First Octave 4 ft Violin Dulciana # Sixth 8 Second Octave 4 ft Orchestral ft Dulciana Violin Second Octave 4 ft Sixth 8 Dulciana # Orchestral ft Dulciana Violin # Mutation V Sixth 8 Orchestral ft Violin First Muted 8 Violin ft First Muted 8 Violin # ft First Muted 8 Violin ft Second Muted 8 Violin ft Second Muted 8 Violin # ft Second Muted 8 Violin ft Stentor Division [edit] Tuba Magna (from 8 ft) 16 ft Tuba Magna 8 ft Percussion Division [edit] Percussion -------------------------------------------------------------- Major Chimes C-c1 Minor Chimes G-g Metalophone C-C2 Celesta (by Mustel of Paris) C-c2 Piano I (prepared for) Piano II standard 88 notes Harp I tenor C-c2 Harp II (prepared for) Gongs tenor C-C2 (now playable) Crescendo Cymbal Cymbalstar, a memorial to Virgil Fox Chinese Gong (84" diameter) Recordings [edit] * The Grand Court Organ (1973) by Keith Chapman. It included a number of works demonstrating the full organ * Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. 1975, the recording is of Keith Chapman's own transcription of the piano suite * Airs & Arabesques (1976) explored the softer colors of the instrument to marvelous effect * Virgil Fox Plays the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ (1964, 2004). * Keith Chapman - The Lost Radio Broadcasts - Vantage V2CD-698-002^ [21] * Xaver Varnus' concert ^[20] * Magic! (2001) By Peter Richard Conte * Wanamaker Legacy (2004) by Peter Richard Conte * A Grand Celebration: Peter Richard Conte with The Philadelphia Orchestra, recorded 2008 * Wanamaker Organ Centennial Concert: Peter Richard Conte with the Symphony in C, Rossen Milanov, conductor. Recorded 2011. Also available on DVD. * Midnight in the Grand Court (2004) by Peter Richard Conte * Christmas in the Grand Tradition by Peter Richard Conte with the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble * My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice by Peter Richard Conte with Andrew Ennis, Flugelhorn * Around the Wanamaker Organ in 80 Minutes, Wanamaker DVD^[22] (A DVD tour of the organ) * A Wanamaker Organ Curators Tour through the entire instrument on DVD with curator Curt Mangel and MPR host Michael Barone ( Pipedreams). * A Wanamaker Organ Sonic Odyssey tonal exploration of the entire instrument on DVD with Peter Richard Conte and Yale Organist Thomas Murray. See also [edit] * [40p]Philadelphia portal * Curtis Organ * Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ Notes and references [edit] 1. ^ "The Wanamaker Organ - Inside the world's largest operating musical instrument". 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13 - via www.youtube.com. 2. ^ "The Wanamaker Organ". 11 August 2015. 3. ^ Theatreorgans.com, The World's Largest Pipe Organs, list of the world's 75 largest organs based on number of ranks 4. ^ "The Top 20 - The World's Largest Pipe Organs". Sacred Classics . Atlas Communications. Archived from the original on October 16, 2003. Retrieved 8 April 2016. (The Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ has more pipes but fewer ranks). 5. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Biswanger, Ray (1999). Music in the Marketplace: The Story of Philadelphia's Historic Wanamaker Organ. The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Press. ISBN 0-9665552-0-1. 6. ^ "About the Organ - Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, Inc". Archived from the original on 2019-11-12. 7. ^ "Detour to 1904". 9 June 2007. 8. ^ ^a ^b "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia". www.broadcastpioneers.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018. 9. ^ Whitney, Craig R. (2003). All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters. PublicAffairs New York. ISBN 1-58648-173-8. 10. ^ The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists lists all the stops on the organ and mentions the unrealized Stentor division. 11. ^ CRAIG R. WHITNEY (June 9, 2007). "Amid the Shirts and Socks, a Concert Can Break Out". The New York Times. 12. ^ "Macy's landmark store in Philly, others in New York and New Jersey among dozens closing". 2025-01-09. Retrieved 2025-01-10. 13. ^ Joe Brandt, Kerri Corrado, Tom Ignudo, Tom Dougherty, Dan Snyder (2025-01-09). "Center City Philadelphia Macy's store is closing. What's next for the Wanamaker Building? - CBS Philadelphia". CBS News. Retrieved 2025-01-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) 14. ^ Peter Dobrin (2025-01-09). "With Macy's planned closure, the future of the historically important Wanamaker organ is uncertain". Retrieved 2025-01-10. 15. ^ Dobrin, Peter (2025-01-15). "Is the Wanamaker organ safe? And what does 'safe' mean?". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2025-01-15. 16. ^ Neil, Emily (2025-03-24). "'A keepsake for your memories': Organ concert marks the end of Macy's era at the Wanamaker Building". WHYY. Archived from the original on 2025-10-27. Retrieved 2025-10-26. 17. ^ Crimmins, Peter (2025-07-25). "Opera Philadelphia will take over Macy's this fall". WHYY. Archived from the original on 2025-10-27. Retrieved 2025-10-26. 18. ^ Goodfellow, William S. (April 5, 1992). "Fate Brings Organist to Tabernacle Post". Deseret News. Retrieved January 2, 2022. 19. ^ Whitney, Craig (April 1, 2003). All The Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ And Its American Masters. PublicAffairs. pp. 126-127. ISBN 9781586482626. Retrieved September 12, 2017. 20. ^ ^a ^b Xaver Varnus (9 July 2011). "XAVER VARNUS IMPROVISE ON WANAMAKER, THE WORLD'S LARGEST PIPE ORGAN IN PHILADELPHIA (1987)" . Archived from the original on 2021-12-13 - via YouTube. 21. ^ "The Wanamaker Organ on the Radio". 22. ^ "Around the Wanamaker Organ in 80 MinutesA DVD video tour of 28,482 pipes, their history and their sounds!". * Biswanger, Ray (1999). Music in the Marketplace: The Story of Philadelphia's Historic Wanamaker Organ. The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Press. ISBN 0-9665552-0-1. External links [edit] # Media related to Wanamaker Organ at Wikimedia Commons * Friends of the Wanamaker Organ * Pipe Dreams radio program, "Peter Conte and the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ" * Grand Court Organ, Wanamaker Dept. Store Philadelphia, PA * Video of the Wanamaker Organ being played by Virgil Fox * The Worlds Largest Musical Instrument: The Wanamaker Organ - Part 1 * The Wanamaker Organ Part 2 - The Fine Details * The Wanamaker Organ Part 3 - Routine Maintenance * Jenkins, Charles S.P. (9 August 2014). "The Wanamaker Organ". Stories of London. Retrieved 2015-12-07. 39deg57'05''N 75deg09'44''W / 39.9515degN 75.1622degW / 39.9515; -75.1622 * Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Wanamaker_Organ&oldid=1330983901" Categories: * Landmarks in Philadelphia * Individual pipe organs in the United States * Market East, Philadelphia * Wanamaker family * Louisiana Purchase Exposition Hidden categories: * CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list * Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas * Articles with short description * Short description is different from Wikidata * Use American English from January 2025 * All Wikipedia articles written in American English * All articles with unsourced statements * Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022 * Commons category link from Wikidata * Coordinates on Wikidata * This page was last edited on 3 January 2026, at 19:41 (UTC). * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply. 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