Welcome to Wanamaker's – Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Maxine Dalsemer works in the Visitor Center of Macy’s and gives an informative tour of the Wanamaker Building. During the tour she talks extensively about the history of the Wanamaker building, its architecture, and the business conducted within. She states that the building is made up of cement and steel with a façade of granite from Maine and an interior of the finest marble. "Wanamaker," she says, "didn’t think of the space in terms of dollars per square foot as most retailers do but was more concerned with the grandeur and beauty of the space."

She points out that the columns on the second floor lining the Grand Court are Corinthian, the ones on the third floor are Ionic, and the columns on all the floors supporting the ceilings are Doric. She brings the tour to a vestibule to show the very intricate mosaics made of Terrazzo Marble tiles that are placed painstakingly to create the Wanamaker’s logo

Ms Dalsemer claims that at one point there were a tennis court and a jogging track on the roof for the benefit of the store’s employees, but that they regrettably have been replaced with air conditioning units. As she walks through the store she reveals that most of the walls that the shoppers see are false walls used to camouflage stock rooms. She leads the tour past what used to be the Egyptian room on the 3rd floor but remorsefully declares that it has been converted to the executive offices. She explains that it once was a sales floor/auditorium that sold and auctioned off pianos. For special occasions the pianos were disassembled and stored to make room for the seating of 700 or more people. The tour is then brought to the Greek Hall also on the 3rd floor. This dark wood-paneled room with Tiffany Stained Glass Windows has intricately carved wood ceilings featuring Hellenistic patterns, molding featuring large plaster cameos of Roman generals, and elaborate inlayed wood designs on the walls.