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Cornerstone of American Retail Took a Staggering Financial Hit, Historic Location Shuttered in Attempt to Save the Store

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5 months ago

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As an era ends in Philadelphia, it will go out amid the thunder and grace of a musical instrument that has entertained shoppers for more than a century.

The Macy’s story on Philadelphia’s Market Street was among the 66 stores Macy’s targeted for closing this year, according to WCAU-TV. The chain will close 150 stores over the next two years, leaving it with 350 stores.

Macy’s had about 1,100 stores in 2008, according to the Daily Mail.

To mark its last days, Saturday features a day-long concert on the famed Wanamaker Organ.

“It’s a very emotional time. A very emotional time. I’ve been in this building as the Wanamaker Grand Organist for 38 years. This is my baby,” organist Peter Richard Conte said, according to WPVI-TV.

The Wanamaker building is a piece of Philadelphia retail history. The building opened 114 years ago as John Wanamaker’s, which closed in 1995. Prior to becoming a Macy’s, retail names such as Hecht, Strawbridge, and Lord & Taylor filled the space.

And what a space it was.

When Wanamaker’s opened in 1911, it was the world’s largest retail store with 45 acres of floor space.

“It’s so core to Philadelphia because of its location, but also because of the experience,” Selena Austin, program coordinator at the Pennsylvania Historical Society, said.

“Of the 12 stories, nine were dedicated to retail space but then he had these additional spaces that were intended for events and for his employees,” Austin said.

“There was an auditorium where they would hold all types of assemblies and events, there was a space where tennis matches were held on a tennis court, and there are classrooms where the Wanamaker Institute operated,” she said.

“So many people still today can relate to going to the Wanamaker’s department store, can go into their storage unit and find a solid oak table that they purchased from Wanamaker’s, can go into the thrift store and find some Bicentennial china branded with the Wanamaker’s logo,” she said.

The Wanamaker Organ that will fall silent after Saturday’s concerts was conceived in America’s Gilded Age as the 20th Century was dawning.

Built with more than 10,000 pipes for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and then acquired by Philadelphia department store mogul J.D. Wanamaker.

Over the years, the organ grew to have more than 28,000 pipes.

The organ’s finale runs all day Saturday. Sunday is the final day the store will be open for business.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Cornerstone of American Retail Took a Staggering Financial Hit, Historic Location Shuttered in Attempt to Save the Store appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Politics

DEVELOPING: FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop for United Airlines Flights at Several Airports Due to ‘Technology Issue’

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6 hours ago

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August 7, 2025

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The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday issued a nationwide ground stop for United Airlines flights at several airports due to a ‘technology issue.’

“The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it issued a ground stop for United Airlines (UAL.O), flights at several U.S. airports while the company itself said its teams were working to resolve a tech outage as soon as possible,” Reuters reported.

‘Due to a technology issue, we are holding United mainline flights at their departure airports. We expect additional flight delays this evening as we work through this issue. Safety is our top priority, and we’ll work with our customers to get them to their destinations,’ United Airlines said in a statement to The Daily Mail.

CBS News reported:

There is a ground stop for United Airlines flights at Chicago O’Hare Airport Wednesday evening.

United said in a statement that a “technology issue” is causing them to hold departures.

“We expect additional flight delays this evening as we work through this issue. Safety is our top priority, and we’ll work with our customers to get them to their destinations,” the statement continued.

The technical issues are also impacting airports in Denver, Houston, San Francisco and Newark.

Video taken by a passenger at O’Hare shows a line of United planes stopped on the tarmac that have recently landed, waiting because no gates are available.

DEVELOPING…

The post DEVELOPING: FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop for United Airlines Flights at Several Airports Due to ‘Technology Issue’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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“I Defied My Government For Love” – State Department Official Dated Senior CCP Leader’s Daughter, Admits “She Could Have Been a Spy” – But Didn’t Report Her (VIDEO)

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6 hours ago

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August 7, 2025

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The O’Keefe Media Group on Wednesday released undercover video of Daniel Choi, a US State Department Foreign Service Officer who admitted he dated a senior CCP leader’s daughter and refused to report her.

“I defied my government for love,” Daniel Choi said of his romantic relationship with 27-year-old Joi Zao.

Joi Zao entered the US on a work visa in September 2024.

“Her dad was either a provincial or a federal minister of education. So he’s, like, straight up Communist Party,” Choi said.

“Under federal regulations, Foreign Service Officers are required to report close and continuing contact with foreign nationals from adversarial nations, including China,” the O’Keefe Media Group reported.

Choi admitted he didn’t report her: “I was supposed to, whatever, sort of report what I knew about her, but I always thought that was kind of unfair.”

WATCH:

The State Department responded to the O’Keefe Media Group’s undercover video exposing Choi.

“The incident is under investigation. The Department has zero tolerance for individuals who jeopardize national security by putting their personal interests ahead of our great nation,” the State Department said in a statement.

Later Wednesday, Daniel Choi deleted his LinkedIn profile after OMG’s undercover video exposing his relationship with the a CCP leader’s daughter.

The post “I Defied My Government For Love” – State Department Official Dated Senior CCP Leader’s Daughter, Admits “She Could Have Been a Spy” – But Didn’t Report Her (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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U.S. Closes its Embassy in Haiti Amid Escalating Violence: The Armed Gangs Crisis and Trump’s Policy to Confront It

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6 hours ago

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August 7, 2025

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This is a Gateway Hispanic article.

The post U.S. Closes its Embassy in Haiti Amid Escalating Violence: The Armed Gangs Crisis and Trump’s Policy to Confront It appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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