đ¶ Protecting the Wanamaker organ | Morning Newsletter
And a group chat to fight parental loneliness.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to Wednesday, Philly. Stay bundled: Temperatures through tomorrow are expected to hover near freezing, with a chance of snowfall on Martin Luther King Day.
Since Macyâs announced its store in the Wanamaker Building will close in March, questions about the future of its Grand Court organ have remained unanswered. Our lead story examines: Is the Wanamaker organ safe? And what does âsafeâ really mean?
And thereâs a web of WhatsApp groups for moms in Philly that has grown to include hundreds of people. Meet the underground chat group helping parents fight loneliness.
â Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
With the pending closure of Macyâs in the Wanamaker Building, Philadelphians know thereâs more to mourn than a department store. There are also the decades of tradition stemming from the iconic Center City buildingâs Christmas Light Show, and of course, the free, daily concerts performed on the majestic Grand Court organ.
đ¶ Itâs not yet clear what the storeâs departure means for the 150-foot-high instrument. The Grand Court has been on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places since 2017, ensuring that any plans to remove or change the organ must be approved.
đ¶ But that doesnât mean itâs safe forever, nor does it mean the organ will be maintained â or played. And the loss of its music would be a tear in Philadelphiaâs civic fabric, arts reporter Peter Dobrin argues.
In other arts news: The Curtis Institute of Music on Tuesday outbid Temple University for the Art Alliance building, owned by the shuttered University of the Arts.
What you should know today
Two teens were killed in separate shootings in North and West Philadelphia in the span of 12 hours early this week, police said.
The former director of a New Jersey sports complex that hosts programs for children was charged for sexually assaulting a teen boy, authorities said.
The murder trial has begun for a Delaware County pastor accused of killing 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington in 1975.
President-elect Donald Trumpâs team schemed to throw out 300,000 votes legally cast in Philly after the 2020 election, Special Counsel Jack Smith wrote in a new report.
When Trump ends his inaugural address, a group of police and EMTs who responded to the assassination attempt on his life in Butler will lead a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.
The 2025 Philly district attorney race is underway as former Judge Patrick Dugan on Tuesday launched his bid to oust Larry Krasner, pitching himself as âtough, but fair.â
After losing her son in Afghanistan and husband to cancer, this Cherry Hill woman turned to politics. Next week she joins the N.J. Assembly.
Gov. Phil Murphy called for districts in New Jersey to ban students from using cell phones during school hours and activities.
Starbucks on Monday said it is no longer inviting non-customers into its stores. The new rules reverse an open-door policy put in place in 2018, after two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks where they had gone for a business meeting.
A Northeast Philly woman prepaid for her husbandâs burial decades ago. When he died, she was asked to pay again. Sheâs the just latest customer of many to complain about Wertheimer Monuments.
Beth Auguste knows parenthood can be isolating, confusing, joyful, frustrating, and all in between.
In 2018, the South Philadelphia mom launched Philly Parenting Chat for local parents in need of connection with others who get it. The group has since grown to include hundreds of people communicating in dozens of connected WhatsApp sub-chats on all subjects of child rearing and postpartum life.
Such networks are more than a social outlet. They can be a real salve for a significant public health challenge: âItâs a way to fill in some of the gaps in the current way that parents are living,â one expert told The Inquirer, âin a society that doesnât have as many supports.â
đ§ Trivia time
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which just announced a new president and CEO, is the parent organization of which cultural institution?
A) Penn Museum
B) MĂŒtter Museum
C) The Franklin Institute
D) Academy of Nature Sciences
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) weâre...
đ· Cheering: The Ukrainian immigrant who lit up the Linc with his saxophone national anthem.
đ Booing: The Eagles fan caught on camera berating a Packers fan.
đ· Anticipating: The grand opening of Calder Gardens, the long-awaited showcase for one of Philadelphiaâs most famous artists.
𫶠Donating: Time and money to these Philadelphia mutual aid groups.
𧩠Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Regional transit agencyâs electronic fare-payment system
DRY CAKE
Email us if you know the answer. Weâll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Jim May, who solved Tuesdayâs anagram: Middle Child. The popular, sandwich-forward Philly restaurants were recently denied in a lawsuit against an upstart Middle Child in Las Vegas.
Photo of the day
đ„ą One last forward-looking thing: With a Center City 76ers arena no longer looming, Chinatown restaurateurs mull whatâs next for the neighborhood, which has seen foot traffic fall since 2020. Meanwhile, those in South Philly say theyâre thrilled. Plus: The Sixers, Comcast, and City Hall say they will still revive Market East. Itâs not yet clear what that means for the beleaguered commercial corridor.
Keep warm out there. Iâll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirerâs Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.