With Macy’s closing, it’s not clear what will happen to the holiday light show

With Macy’s closing its historic location in Center City, it’s unclear what the future holds for several beloved Philly holiday traditions.

Macy’s opened its City Center location in the historic Wanamaker Building in 2006, but the building has been home to an assortment of memory-making traditions, such as an annual holiday light show, for nearly 70 years.

In a news conference Thursday, city officials didn’t say what would happen to the light show or Dickens Village, which has been running for nearly four decades. Instead, the focus was on plans to revitalize Market Street, with hopes pinned on a new arena for the 76ers slated to open during the later half of 2031.

“While this marks the end of an era for Philadelphia’s retail landscape, it also signals the beginning of a new chapter,” said Alba Martinez, Philadelphia’s director of commerce. “One filled with economic opportunity in our evolving real estate market and the promise of revitalization for Market East and Center City as a whole.”

The city did not immediately respond to questions about the future of the annual light show and Dickens Village. TF Cornerstone, which owns the part of the building that contains Macy’s, could not be reached for comment.

» READ MORE: Center City Macy’s, located in iconic Wanamaker Building, will close in March

The first holiday light show was hosted at Wanamaker’s in 1956, when store executive Frederick M. Yost installed the “Dancing Waters Enchanted Fountain” system and lit the fountains for Christmas. A 60-foot “Magic Christmas Tree of a Million Lights” was added three years later, and the tradition grew from there.

In recent years the show attracted more than 175,000 visitors during the Christmas season, drawn to the massive display of holiday lights, accompanied by music from the century-old Wanamaker Organ. The Wanamaker Grand Court, which includes the organ and the building’s iconic eagle statue, is protected by the Philadelphia Historical Commission.

» READ MORE: The Wanamaker Building’s Macy’s may be closing, but its iconic eagle and organ are protected

Dickens Village, which features animated figures depicting scenes from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, was added in 1985 by Strawbrige & Clothier. The 6,000-square-foot, 26-scene walk-through had been so popular over the years visitors needed to book a reservation ahead of time.

When Macy’s took over the store in 2006, it also took over operation of Dickens Village and redesigned aspects of the light show. The company also brought back Santa and the train. Their removal in 2003 elicited a headline in The Inquirer that read, “A Christmas crime in the city.”