Talk:Wanamaker Organ

Electrical demands
This is only among my recollections from a tour. But if correct, it would be interesting to include in the article: The organ is usually kept powered on 24/7, mainly because starting it up consumes so much electrical power. The on-off switch operates a relay that starts the several blowers one at a time over a period of at least 30 seconds. Even so, the process strains the electrical grid of downdown Philadelphia to the extent that the store must notify the power company in advance or risk a fine.


 * I think someone is pulling your leg. JGHowes 12:16, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Definitely a leg being pulled. I've worked on a great many organs (though never this particular one). It's true that an organ this size will need several blowers, and they probably do start sequentially, but they certainly wouldn't strain a power grid. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.86.217.245 (talk) 05:02, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

The electric company would have a problem if all the blowers were to come on at 1 time, thus the sequencer that starts them up, 1 at a time at a 30 second interval. It takes a full 4 minutes for the organ to come up to speed. Also, this article measures height in floors or stories of the building. This building is of the guilded age when the stories were almost twice what they are now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.245.116.63 (talk) 15:35, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

Pipes and Ranks
I am actively involved in the maintenance and restoration of the Wanamaker Organ and have direct first hand knowledge of and experience with the instrument. We are currently in the process of manually recounting all ranks and pipes; this process is about 85% completed. Until we are finished the recount, the "official" count that we use is 28,482 pipes in 461 ranks.

This will probably go up once the recount is finished (a rank of Vox Humanas was recently added to the Orchestral). Additionally, the stoplist on the website needs to be updated because it includes duplicates on the Stentor manual designed to allow some voices to be coupled separately from their resident division. The actual Stentor division was never built.
 * My father, Ray Biswanger, could probably verify this, as he is also very involved with the organ. I don't actually know who you are (presumably not my dad), but I can run this info by him as well. AdamBiswanger1 19:17, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Can I make a plea for a list of couplers (and maybe other accessories) to be included in the specification? A structured list of the stop-keys would be interesting too. HuPi (talk) 15:00, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

I request that someone who understands the ranges of the stops in the Percussion Division either change the syntax to one described in Note or add the convention used in the Percussion Division to the table in the Note section. For example, I do not understand the meaning of "G–G". Thank you for your help and consideration. Captpossum (talk) 14:59, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

the midmer losh
The organ in convention hall/ boardwalk hall in atlantic city was fully working, but during the years it has deteriorated. THe good thing about this is that the organ is completely original in every way. as said about the wanamaker using so much power, i wouldnt agree, this however is true for the Midmer Losh. The power of its blowers are over 600hp.

Good Article Review
This article is currently at Good Article Review. LuciferMorgan 16:47, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
 * The result was 4-2 for this article to be delisted. Suggestions for changes to improve the article can be found here. Once the article has been brought up to standards, it is recommended that it be renominated for GA. If you do not agree with this decision, you can request a review at WP:GA/R.
 * Regards, Lara Love  T / C  17:45, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Out of curiosity
Would anyone know if Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony has been played on this? &mdash; $PЯINGεrαgђ  04:34 12 August, 2008 (UTC)
 * Although I am unaware of whether it has been performed, it is scheduled for performance on Saturday Sept 6, 2014 (http://www.wanamakerorgan.com/). Captpossum (talk) 15:25, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

Maintenance History
The article's Notable characteristics section states "The artistic obligation entailed by the creation of this instrument has always been honored, with two curators employed in its constant and scrupulous care. The organ, with its regular program of concerts and recitals, was maintained by Wanamaker's throughout the chain's history, even as the company's financial fortunes waned. This level of dedication was maintained when corporate parentage shifted from the Wanamaker family to Carter Hawley Hale Stores followed by Woodward & Lothrop, Lord & Taylor, and finally to Macy's."

That doesn't jibe with this 2014 quote by chief organist Peter Richard Conte: "Back when I first started here, in the early part of my tenure, the organ was pretty much dead, if you can believe it.  Most of it just didn't function.  Macy's came in, and within just a few years, the organ went from hardly playable to, now it's 100 percent playable." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98KYMpBx9og

I believe he was mistaken in saying Macy's (ownership was May's at that time). But otherwise, it discredits the claim of constant and scrupulous care.

Balazer (talk) 19:11, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

Divisions
I've been thinking about adding a section dedicated to describing the divisions as a whole. It would include information according to https://wanamakerorgan.com/about-the-organ/ about each division.YouFoundSharpe (talk) 21:02, 2 July 2021 (UTC)