A pioneer in modern marketing and advertising, John Wanamaker (1838–1922) founded the nearby emporium that bore his name for more than a century. At Wanamaker’s, one of the earliest department stores in the nation, he created and popularized the money-back guarantee, a fixed-price system, and other consumer benefits that became industry standards. He was also a philanthropist who contributed to many civic causes.

After his death, schoolchildren donated $50,000 in pennies to a Memorial Committee to help finance this bronze statue by Scottish-born John Massey Rhind, one of the era’s foremost sculptors of public monuments.

Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Jennie Funches was a longtime consultant at the Macy’s Visitor Center in Philadelphia, formerly in the historic Wanamaker Building, which originally housed Wanamaker’s department store, founded in 1866. Michael Lisicky specializes in the histories of American department stores. He is the author of Wanamaker’s: Meet me at the Eagle. William Zulker (1926-2021) wrote a a biography of John Wanamaker, John Wanamaker: King of Merchants. | Segment Producer: Yowei Shaw

Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.

This artwork is part of the Around City Hall tour