Devastating Philly Loss: Iconic Store Closing!

Sometimes a store is more than a store. Sometimes when it's a landmark department store -- one that takes up a whole city block -- it's intertwined with the history, the culture and even the well being of a city.

Such is the case with Macy's (formerly Wanamaker's) in center city Philadelphia. Founded by John Wanamaker in 1861, Wanamaker's was one of the first department stores in the United States. And John Wanamaker was one of the city's most prominent and influential citizens. In fact, to this day, his likeness remains in the form of a bronze statue facing the store just outside Philadelphia's City Hall. 

The dramatic grand court of the original Wanamaker store at 13th and Markets streets is a veritable cathedral of commerce. In the center a huge bronze eagle faces the nine-story high Wanamaker pipe organ, the world's largest with 28,000 pipes. Both of these were transported from the St. Louis World's Fair more than 100 years ago.

For generations Philadelphians have gathered at the grand court calling on friends to "meet me at the eagle" and joining with family members for the spectacular Christmas light show in this inspiring public place. Macy's took over Wanamaker's in 2006, condensing the mammoth store but retaining the grand court, daily organ concerts, the light show and other beloved elements.

Now, Macy's, in an ongoing effort to eliminate unproductive stores, has announced the closing of 65 more stores including the center city Philadelphia location. 

This is a tremendous blow to Philadelphia -- a huge, devastating loss for a city that has been on a downhill slide for at least a decade now, if not a lot longer. 

The recently ended Jim Kenney era accelerated the city's decline as Mayor Kenney was a progressive ideologue with a fierce vindictive streak who turned his back on the city's commercial and financial district, paid little heed to business leaders and stood by as crime, violence, homelessness, filth, blight and open air drug markets took over more and more of the city.

Fueling all of it has been Larry Krasner, a criminal-loving district attorney funded by George Soros. Today, Philadelphia is paying the price, not just for Kenney, Krasner and their failures but for more than 70 years of iron clad one-party rule under one Democrat regime after another, largely enforced by union thugs and patronage appointees as much of those who might have led the town out of this morass sat idly by. 

This is the story of nearly all the Democrat-run cities in this country and now Philadelphia can claim the dubious distinction of being right up there with Detroit, San Francisco and Los Angeles among cities that have effectively gone to hell.

How sad!