John Wanamaker didn’t follow trends; he created them.
—Jane Von Bergen, columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer5
On March 20, 1876, the old Pennsylvania Railroad freight depot became Wanamaker’s newest store, which he proudly named the Grand Depot. Philadelphia was in the midst of celebrating the Centennial Exposition, and thousands of visitors were drawn to see the nation’s largest men’s and children’s clothing store.
In his advertisements, Wanamaker stated:
There is no store in the United States that covers so much ground floor as our single establishment at Thirteenth and Market, and such a busy scene as it presents, is well worth going a long distance to see. Some of our employees are especially detailed to show visitors around who wish only to look, not to buy.6
Not only did the Grand Depot include special amenities like sitting rooms for weary shoppers, the store also operated a restaurant for hungry customers. It was the first time that any store in the country offered such a service. The centerpiece of the store was a ninety foot circular counter that featured the latest in ladies’ silks. The store was just as much a tourist attraction as the exposition itself as visitors had never seen such a large retail operation before.
Though his store was a huge triumph, Wanamaker wanted to expand his operation to include more than just men’s and children’s clothing. After a successful first Christmas season, the Grand Depot closed its doors for a complete transformation. Wanamaker wanted to sell all types of merchandise, especially the unique goods that he had seen on his buying trips. He planned to increase the size of the Grand Depot and open what he called a “New Kind of Store.”
Wanamaker’s Grand Depot, located at Thirteenth and Market Streets. Courtesy of the author.
For some reason, Wanamaker disliked the term “department store.” He preferred calling it a “composite store.” No matter what it was called, 71,106 people showed up to its grand opening on March 12, 1877. After catering exclusively to the male customer for almost sixteen years, the store now appealed to the average female shopper. The store housed sixteen different departments and carried everything from ready-made clothing to furniture. In one of his signature advertisements, Wanamaker stated, “ladies will come from far and near to purchase their dry goods and wearing apparel of every description.”7
Perhaps most importantly, Wanamaker advertised his store as the “Stewart’s of Philadelphia.”8 If any business ever fit the bill as America’s first department store, it was New York’s A.T. Stewart & Co. Alexander Turney Stewart was John Wanamaker’s hero. Stewart opened his first store in 1846 and soon incorporated many of the same business philosophies that Wanamaker admired and eventually adopted, including a no-bargaining policy. Stewart’s also offered low prices, possible because of the store’s high sales volume. In 1862, Stewart opened his Iron Palace, a grand emporium that covered an entire city block. Most importantly, Stewart departmentalized his store as this large building soon housed over thirty separate departments.
Not only was Stewart a true Merchant Prince, he was also an Evangelical Protestant. “Wanamaker admired Stewart”, says Temple University professor Herbert Ershkowitz. “Stewart was the founder of the original department store and Stewart was his idol.” Wanamaker was eager to achieve the same type of reputation in Philadelphia that Stewart had in New York. Stewart was one of the richest men in New York and soon Wanamaker was one of the richest men in Philadelphia. With money came power and some people in Philadelphia were concerned that Wanamaker was too powerful. Some merchants berated Wanamaker’s ability to sell his merchandise at such low prices. He did so only because he tended to buy his goods directly from manufacturers.
Regardless what people thought of him, Wanamaker continued to make history with his new store. In January 1878, he introduced the first annual White Sale. This sale was an attempt to sell excess stock in bedding during a traditionally slow time of the year. He chose the name White Sale since all linens were exclusively sold in white. Later that year, Wanamaker visited Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park Laboratory. By Christmas 1878, Wanamaker’s was the first store in the world to be lighted by electricity. When the store was first lit, crowds cowered a half-block away from the store, afraid the building would blow up.9 In 1879, Wanamaker’s housed the first telephone in a store, and, in 1880, the store introduced the pneumatic tube system. Wanamaker introduced a fine art gallery in 1881, elevators in 1882 and a mail-order system in 1883. By 1885, the merchant pioneer was operating three stores with over four thousand employees. John Wanamaker decided to concentrate all his energy on the Grand Depot and renamed the store John Wanamaker. He sold the controlling interest in his other two stores to his brothers William and Samuel.10 These stores were renamed Wm. H. Wanamaker and S.N. Wanamaker & Co. The Wm. H. Wanamaker stores continued to be a leading menswear retailer until late in the twentieth century.
As the success of his store grew, so did Wanamaker’s political aspirations. He became deeply involved in the Republican Party. However, it was hard for Wanamaker to separate his political life from his religious life. Professor Herbert Ershkowitz states, “His campaigns for office were often moral crusades in which he branded his opponents as personifications of evil.” Though he felt he was taking a high moral ground, Wanamaker lost political support. This led to unsuccessful bids for senator and governor.
Using his business connections, Wanamaker helped raise vast amounts of money for Benjamin Harrison’s candidacy for president. After Harrison’s victory in 1888, Wanamaker was appointed postmaster general. During his tenure, he pushed for many reforms to the post office department. His proposals included the introduction of parcel post and rural free delivery. In addition, he advocated for controls of the nation’s telephone and telegraph systems. Even though these changes were not implemented until after his term ended, Wanamaker received criticism from business and political competitors who saw his position on Harrison’s cabinet as a conflict of interest.
As John got older and his interests became broader, he was anxious to teach his children how to run the business. John’s oldest son, Tom, began to assume operating control by the 1890s. However, his son Rodman was not as interested. He had spent time working in the store in previous years but he did not want to stay in Philadelphia. In 1886, Rodman left Philadelphia and moved to Paris. This move helped Rodman satisfy his love of fine art while he continued to work for the store as head of the Paris buying office.
Wanamaker’s hero, A.T. Stewart, passed away in 1876, and his historic New York store fell into the hands of mismanagement. Wanamaker had always given Stewart credit for his business success. In return, Stewart had publicly stated “Wanamaker was going to become America’s most successful merchant.” By the 1890s, Stewart’s operated as Hilton, Hughes & Co. When that store went into receivership in August 1896, Wanamaker came to the rescue.