School is out

As soon as the school year ended, the pipe organ work stepped to the forefront. The first Saturday I traveled to Philadelphia, PA to hear the Wanamaker Organ, with its 28, 414 pipes, in the Wanamaker Building that now houses a Macy's store. This organ was built for the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. The noon concert was nice but strange as shoppers milled around while the twenty or so of us listened. Some people walking into the hall were taken aback by the sounds and stopped to figure out what was happening. The instructions for the tour following the concert were to meet Nick by the eagle. Having never been in this store before, I did not know what that meant but easily understood by spotting the large eagle statue in the middle of the store between shoes and jewelry. The tour was so enlightening and took us to pipe rooms, the organ console, and the many rooms where work is constantly being done to maintain and improve the organ. The foundation that raises money for the organ work also enlists many volunteers who give a day a week or one a month to help with the constant care required by such a magnificent instrument. Much work was currently being done to prepare for the initial sharing of the 2 manual Wurlitzer in a side hall of the building. That preview will be June 25th weekend. The $20 price of the tour was well worth it as Nick shared his wealth of information with us. Thanks Nick.