BIG ORGAN

If you’ve been to Macy’s in the Wanamaker Building on Market Street, you know the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, the largest operating musical instrument in the world. But you may not know that it recently got a face-lift — one that debuted yesterday. The restoration targeted the grand organ case, the 117 gold pipes visible above the marble balcony on the second story of the store’s Grand Court all in 22 karat gold. The pipes were repaired, smoothed, cleaned, and painted to match their original color, a warm shade of white. As traditon, the Capital Street Duo came down for the day with our friend Kalen to take in the reveal. And it was done and looked stunning.

Not only does the organ sound amazing, but we were treated to not only the talents of Peter Richard Conti, but the extremely handsome Ken Cowan also tickling the ivories. We also learned these interesting facts.

The organ as we know it today differs quite a bit from what organ architect George Ashdown Audsley designed in 1904 for the St. Louis World’s Fair. Back then, it was a mere 10,000 or so pipes. Nonetheless, when the instrument was played at the fair, it knocked plaster from the ceiling and panicked the crowd, according to Ray Biswanger, executive director of the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ.

To build the organ for the World’s Fair, it cost $105,000 — or $2,927,944 in today’s money. Unsurprisingly, it bankrupted the Los Angeles Art Organ Company, the builder tasked with its construction. It went into a warehouse after 1904 and sat there until John Wanamaker bought it in 1909, reportedly for “next to nothing.” The organ shipped to Philly on 13 train cars and took almost two years to install.

The organ was first played for the public in the Wanamaker Building on June 22, 1911, at the exact moment when King George V was crowned at the Westminster Abbey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Rodman Wanamaker, John Wanamaker’s younger son, was a bit of a spendthrift, according to Biswanger. He also loved the arts and significantly enlarged the organ — by more than 18,000 pipes, made with only the finest materials. Under his watch, the organ expanded to include a special console with six keyboards and a full strings stops section, resembling that of an orchestra’s strings section.

In 1919, the Wanamaker's invited the Philadelphia Orchestra and its illustrious conductor, Leopold Stokowski, to perform in the department store, with the organ backing them. Four such performances were given between then and 1926, and Stokowski was reportedly inspired to arrange organ works for the orchestra as a result of the collaboration. That included his transcription of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, which was eventually set to animation in 1940 in Walt Disney’s Fantasia (in which Stokowski and the orchestra were featured heavily).

The circumference of the organ’s largest pipe is so wide that a Shetland pony once posed for pictures inside it. That same pipe measures a respectable 32 feet long. The smallest pipe, in comparison, is a quarter-inch long.

Another friend of mine joined us down there for the concert, and later decided to become a living mannequin.

And it wouldn't be a mistress post if I didn't include one hottie I came across man watching. A cutie filming the event.

Some people think the organ is too big, but I always say go big or go home. 

Afterwards we spent the rest of the day in New Hope.