Wanamaker's
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John Wanamaker Store
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The Grand Court
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| Location | Juniper and Market Sts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 39°57′5.98″N 75°9′43.81″W / 39.9516611°N 75.1621694°WCoordinates: 39°57′5.98″N 75°9′43.81″W / 39.9516611°N 75.1621694°W |
| Built | 1902 |
| Architect | Thompson, Starrett Co.; Daniel Burnham |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| NRHP Reference # | 78002459 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 2, 1978 |
| Designated NHL | June 2, 1978 |
Wanamaker's was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, Wanamaker had department stores, located both in Philadelphia, and two locations in New York City; at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street, and the other at 770 Broadway. Both employed extremely large staffs. By the end of the 20th century in the shopping-mall era, there were 16 Wanamaker's outlets, but after years of change the chain was bought by Albert Taubman, and added to his previous purchase of Woodward & Lothrop, the Washington, D.C., department store. In 1994, Woodies, as it was known, filed for bankruptcy. The assets of Woodies were purchased by the May Company Department Stores and JCPenney. In 1995, Wanamakers transitioned to Hecht's, one of the May Company brands. In 2012, Macy's Center City became the occupant of the former Philadelphia Wanamaker's Department Store, which is now a National Historic Landmark.
John Wanamaker, the founder of the store that bears his name, was unable to join the U.S. Army during the American Civil War because of a persistent cough. Having been rejected from war duty, he ventured into business with his brother-in-law, Nathan Brown. In 1861, they founded a men's clothing store in Philadelphia called Oak Hall. Wanamaker carried on the business alone after Brown's death in 1868. In 1876, Wanamaker purchased the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad station for use as a new, larger retail location. The concept was to renovate the terminal into a "Grand Depot" similar to London's Royal Exchange or Paris's Les Halles—two central markets, and forerunners of the modern department store, that were well known in Europe at that time.
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