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Staff Pick
We've asked our staff to choose a favorite item from one of the many online collections. This artifact was selected from the online collection of the Atwater Kent Collection by Jennifer because:
"Some of my fondest childhood memories include taking the subway-surface into Center City and visiting Wanamaker's Department Store. I loved coming right into the basement level in the bargain department and riding up the escalator to the Grand Court with its giant brass eagle. I admired the marble floors, elaborate woodwork and elegant upper floors with displays of fashionable clothing. It was a treat to eat in the Grand Crystal Tea Room on the eighth floor. At Christmastime, Wanamaker's was particularly magical with its elaborate decorations, Christmas Village and Light Show. The Light Show's synchronized music, lights and water fountains were wondrous to a kid.
This photograph is of the same Grand Court at Christmastime in an earlier era. Before the Light Show, which started in the 1950s, Wanamaker's offered elaborate holiday displays. This one from 1931 shows Howard Kratz's recreated Renaissance church with a Nativity painting."
