Wanamaker's

Wanamaker's, originally known as John Wanamaker Department Store, was one of the first department stores in the United States. Founded by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia in 1861, it was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags.At its zenith in the early 20th century, Wanamaker's also had a store in New York City at Broadway and 9th Street in Manhattan. Both employed extremely large staffs. By the end of the 20th century, there were 16 Wanamaker's outlets. After years of change, the chain was bought by A. Alfred Taubman in late 1986, and added to Taubman's 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, Wanamaker's transitioned to Hecht's, one of the May Company brands.In 2006, Macy's opened in the former Philadelphia Wanamaker's Department Store, now called Macy's Center City. The building is a National Historic Landmark. One if its expansions was designed by master architect Daniel Burnham. It contains the Wanamaker Organ, the largest functional organ in the world.