[HN Gopher] World's largest functioning musical instrument: Wana...
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       World's largest functioning musical instrument: Wanamaker Organ in
       Philadelphia
        
       Author : bookofjoe
       Score  : 61 points
       Date   : 2025-12-28 17:41 UTC (6 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | dmwood wrote:
       | A trip to Wanamakers at Christmas (including eating in the top-
       | floor restaurant and listening to scheduled organ concerts) was a
       | treasured fixture of my childhood in the late 50s and early 60s.
       | If I remember correctly, there was a monorail-like tram that ran
       | around the periphery of the toy department too. Christmas lights
       | festooned the facade of the organ.
        
       | QuesnayJr wrote:
       | It was sad to read that the store has closed (though they still
       | managed to do some seasonal events with the organ).
        
         | wcunning wrote:
         | The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ society is doing work with
         | the new owners towards preservation. I doubt it's going
         | anywhere, but concerts will be sporadic for a while.
        
       | abhinavb05 wrote:
       | oldest instrument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjXZzB5bUAo
        
       | 0xbadcafebee wrote:
       | The Wanamaker building is fascinating. Around Christmas time,
       | they'd turn the 3rd floor into a sort of model Dickensian village
       | to walk through. There's a small chapel with original stained
       | glass by Tiffany, and a wood-paneled ballroom of sorts with
       | ornate ceilings and electric lamps by the original Edison company
       | that are still operating. There's a large room in Egyptian-
       | revival architecture used for fashion shows, and a chandelier-
       | lined ornate grand ballroom with glass atrium that can seat 1,000
       | people. There also used to be a complete model house you could
       | walk through, and a functional monorail to bring kids around the
       | toy department floor.
        
       | hamonrye wrote:
       | Percentage was shifted to the Carter Hawley Hale and The May
       | Department Stores, as well as Lord & Taylor.
       | 
       | John Wanamaker purchases the organ to move it to 13th and Market,
       | which took a series of freight cars to transport.
        
       | analog8374 wrote:
       | I've sang into a canyon, did a duet with myself, big canyon. Just
       | saying.
        
       | Aboutplants wrote:
       | I thought this would be about the Luray Cavern's Great Stalacpipe
       | Organ.
       | 
       | "The Great Stalacpipe Organ is an electrically actuated
       | lithophone located in Luray Caverns, Virginia, USA. Covering 3.5
       | acres of the cavern, it is considered the world's largest
       | instrument by Guinness World Records."
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stalacpipe_Organ
       | 
       | A great place to visit btw
        
       | conradev wrote:
       | There is a nice co-working space in the Wanamaker building if you
       | need an excuse to visit:
       | 
       | https://www.mindspace.me/philadelphia/wanamaker/
        
       | jpb0104 wrote:
       | If you liked this post... enjoy: Pipe Organ (An instrument the
       | size of a building) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeB3JnKp8To
        
       | ajdude wrote:
       | I've been going here almost every year my entire life, most
       | recently this past December when I got to hear the Oregon play in
       | a concert.
       | 
       | In December they also have a huge light show featuring the organ
       | and a very cool Charles Dickens walk-through village.
        
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       (page generated 2026-01-03 23:00 UTC)