No lights, no Dickens. After generations, a beloved Philly Christmas tradition goes dark
The Wanamaker Light Show won’t return this year or the next.
Can it really still be Christmastime without the Wanamaker Light show?
For the foreseeable future, Philadelphians are going to have to find out.
The deeply cherished tradition — the beating heart of the holidays in the city — is on hiatus until at least the 2028 season, as its namesake building undergoes a multi-million-dollar redevelopment, according to the city’s visitors center.
This will be the first time in decades that the charmingly low-tech cast of twinkling winter characters, the voice of Julie Andrews (formerly John Facenda), and the adjoining Dickens Village won’t usher in the merriment.
The fate of the Light Show was in limbo last year, after the sale of its longtime iconic host, the Macy’s store in Center City. But a dramatic grassroots campaign and fundraising push saved the endangered 2025 run.
Thousands turned out for last year’s Christmas Eve spectacular, bundled against the chill to greet the totemic Wanamaker Eagle, goggle at the magic Christmas tree, and be serenaded by the organ — not knowing when it all could return.
» READ MORE: Crowds flocked to the final Wanamaker Light Show of the season. No one knows when it’s coming back.
Now, developers are reimagining the cavernous 12-story that was once a mecca to American consumers.
The New York-based group, TF Cornerstone, wants to convert the upper levels in 600 loft-style apartments, while retaining office space; the lower levels that Macy’s once occupied will be used for retail, hearkening back to the centenarian building’s history as a landmark department store.
Most recently, developers revealed eatery concepts for the Grand Court; a rendering of the proposal featured a bar around the bronze eagle and romantically-lit sit down tables.
While the building gets its makeover, the panels of dazzling candy canes, glitzy Sugar Plum Fairies, and jolly snowmen that make up the show remain set aside in a tiny circuit room, known as “Frosty Central.”
Ray Biswanger, executive director of the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, told Axios, “they’re safely stored.” According to Axios, the Dickens Village displays are also being housed on the building’s third floor — stashed away like presents before Christmas morning, waiting to bring joy to revelers.
It’s bah humbug.
For now.
