From the time that I was a young girl until my thirties, my mom and I would frequently take the train from the suburbs into downtown Philadelphia for shopping. She was born and raised in the city, living there until my father’s company built a new facility “in the country” as my nana called it until the day she died forty years later.
We would visit several department stores, however, we spent the most time at John Wanamaker. Back to school shopping there was a must, but we also visited throughout the year, always having lunch in the Crystal Tea Room located on the 9th floor. It was such a grown up event to eat there and I loved every minute of it, beginning with the hostess who seemed to me to have more power than the President of the United States we studied in school. It was always a thrill to walk through the large, grand space to our table, careful not to hit the other diners with our full shopping bags as we walked by.
The owner of Wanamaker declared bankruptcy in 1994, and with that went the Wanamaker stores, which were sold to Macy Department Stores Company the following year. In 2006 the flagship Philadelphia store was converted from a Lord & Taylor to a Macy’s. It will always be Wanamaker to me.
I recently returned to the store after close to fifteen years, the reunion causing a flood of memories. It was as if my mom was there with me. The jewelry and cosmetic counters were exactly the same, the smell of perfume that was so exotic to me in my youth still hangs in the air despite the massive 7-story Grand Court ceiling.
I had hoped that an old friend would still be there but I was afraid he had been forced to move on, given the building’s unstable times. My vision loss could not prevent me from navigating to where I could always find him. This day would be no different, there he was, the Grand Court Eagle. “Meet me at the Eagle,” I whispered, as my hand reached out to touch him. I remembered all the years I had to look up to see him, now at 5’ 2”, I have a much better view. Keeping my hand on his leg, I looked around, breathing in deeply for optimum ode to Wanamaker. “Look where I am, mom,” I said quietly. She always told me if we got separated in the Grand Court to go to the Eagle and she would too. In this moment that death could not deny, I found her again.
As wonderful as it was to be in this space, it was also sad. The footprint of each floor has been reduced considerably and whereas once you could take the elevator to the 9th floor, the third is now the limit. It was no great surprise when three weeks after my being there it was announced that the store would be closing for good.
The future of the Eagle and the other iconic elements that have resided here at the former John Wanamaker Department Store for over a century is unclear. I hope they will be saved, re-homed in a new location where they can continue to be enjoyed by future generations. What is for certain: one day I will once again meet my mom at the Eagle.
For other Wanamaker stories:
“This Monorail Transports Me Back”
“It Was Christmastime In The City“
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter#philadelphia #johnwanamakers #wanamakers #meetmeattheeagle