Talk:Wanamaker Organ

message: 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)
thread_title:  Electrical demands 

message: 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)
thread_title:  Pipes and Ranks 

message: Would anyone know if Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony has been played on this? —  $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)
thread_title:  Out of curiosity 

message: 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)
thread_title:  Maintenance History 

message: 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)
thread_title:  Divisions