The last days of ‘Meet me at the eagle’ | Morning Newsletter
🍪 And the rise of Big Cookie.
The Morning Newsletter
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Welcome to Friday, Philly. Brace yourself: Gusts to 40 mph are possible today in the region.
This weekend will be Macy’s last in the iconic Wanamaker Building. Before the department store closes its doors for good, Inquirer columnist Stephanie Farr visited the eagle statue to capture the sights and sounds of Philadelphians who came by for one last meeting.
And Big Cookie is taking over, with at least 10 companies with giant baked goods setting up shop in the region. Have they ushered in a golden age of cookies, or have they created cookie monsters?
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
P.S. Friday means trivia. Our latest news quiz includes questions on washed-up whiskey, an egg lawsuit, and more.
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If you’ve ever paused to listen during the midday organ performance, visited the Christmas light show, or told someone “Meet me at the eagle,” this one is for you.
After 18 years, the Macy’s at 13th and Market Streets is closing Sunday. It’s not clear when the building’s interior — including the majestic Wanamaker Grand Court Organ and bronze eagle statue — will be available to the public next.
So, for four hours on Wednesday, The Inquirer’s Stephanie Farr stood at the Macy’s Grand Court to record the scene. She counted passersby getting their pictures taken with the eagle, chatted with former store employees back to pay respects, and heard from kiddos worried about the fate of the Dickens Village.
“It’s a tough day,” one 90-year-old visitor told her while crying. “This brings back so many memories.”
P.S. For those already missing the music, note that three fragile, rare, and very old European pipe organs have been moved to First Presbyterian Church near Rittenhouse Square.
When I was in college, Insomnia Cookies was the hottest — really, the only — fresh cookie maker around, delivering to student dorms at Temple University and other city schools late at night. The cookies tasted good, came warm, and were hefty enough to tame the munchies.
🍪 Things have changed since the company operated out of an on-campus truck. Now, there’s plenty of competition in the cookie space. And those cookies have gone supersized.
🍪 Perhaps most notable of the now-scores of sweet options is New York-based Levain Bakery, which opened its first Philly outpost last fall and quickly attracted an audience eager to try its famous 6-ounce, 4-inch cookies, even at nearly $6 apiece.
Food reporter Jenn Ladd explains what’s behind the giant-cookie craze.
🍪 Plus, meet 12 makers selling cookies in the region, from neighborhood bakeries to buzzy pop-ups.
In other food news: Pica’s Restaurant, an Upper Darby staple since 1956, will close this summer to relocate and downsize elsewhere in Delaware County. John’s Water Ice in South Philadelphia will add two new locations this spring. And Citizens Bank Park’s newest food and drink offerings include s’mores quesadillas and an Italian dessert.
What you should know today
A man who grabbed a Philadelphia police officer’s gun and then shot him with it was killed by the officer’s partner Thursday outside a hospital in Crescentville, officials said.
A nanny whose inattentiveness led to the drowning death of a 3-year-old boy in her care at a park in Tredyffrin Township pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
An aborted theft of copper wire causes a power outage for more than 1,000 Peco customers and left the would-be thief in critical condition Wednesday in the Northeast, officials said.
President Donald Trump signed an order to “begin eliminating” the U.S. Department of Education. Local schools are concerned but don’t know what to expect yet.
Postal workers rallied Thursday in Bustleton against the possibility of U.S. Postal Service privatization, while University of Pennsylvania unions rallied to urge the administration to oppose federal funding cuts and the canceling of diversity initiatives.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a landmark decision on Thursday that established a new pathway to legal parenthood in the state.
Philly City Council began the process of repealing the downtown 76ers arena legislation its members passed in December.
Mounting financial pressure and legal obstacles in the effort to keep Crozer Health’s hospitals in Delaware County open prompted an emergency court hearing Thursday. Plus, Delco is poised to be the first area suburb to ban ghost guns and rapid-fire gun devices.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
This week, we have an explainer from reporter Michelle Myers on the backstory of one Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood’s religion-tinged street names, including Hermitage, Monastery, Rector, Cathedral, and Hermit.
The nomenclature for some is straightforward: There was once a church or especially devout residents nearby. But in at least one case, the origin is a ... doomsday cult? Here’s the full explanation.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
Which long-running Philly events have been canceled for the foreseeable future due to a National Endowment for the Arts funding freeze?
A) Free Library’s Author Events
B) First Person Arts’ StorySlams
C) Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Pay What You Wish” days
D) Old City’s First Fridays
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🖍️ Filling in: Phillies coloring pages of the Phanatic and Brandon Marsh’s beard.
🏈 Loving: That Jalyx Hunt’s Super Bowl sack helped lift up Philly youth.
🥾 Heeding: An invitation to walk 100 miles around the perimeter of Philadelphia.
🐟 Asking Kiki: “How do I buy raw fish to serve at home?”
🧪 Considering: How to counter attacks on science and health.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Imploded 21 years ago today
SAME ADVENTURIST
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Katie Delaney, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Shark Tank. ABC’s entrepreneur pitch show is hosting an open casting call in Philadelphia on April 11.
Photo of the day
🌸 One last pink thing: The cheerful cherry blossom has finally made its debut. You can refer back to our 2025 Philadelphia cherry blossom guide all spring to see where buds are blooming throughout the city.
I’m out next week, but Paola, Erin, and Sam will have you covered. ‘Til we meet again, be well.
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