John Wanamaker (1838-1922)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Philadelphia merchant, famed for the department stores bearing his name. In 1861 he opened his first store. He built his "new kind of store" here in 1876 and implemented new concepts including the one-price system & money-back guarantee. Active in public life, he built schools, churches, and missions in this and other nations. As U.S. Postmaster General, 1889-93, he fostered rural free delivery and introduced the commemorative stamp.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
John Wanamaker opened his first Philadelphia store in 1861 and, in 1876, unveiled a "new kind of store" that helped invent modern retailing. He pioneered the fixed one-price system and the money-back guarantee, treating customers with a fairness that reshaped how Americans shopped. As U.S. Postmaster General he championed rural free delivery and introduced the commemorative postage stamp.
Why it matters
Wanamaker's innovations built the template for the American department store and the consumer marketplace that followed.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer0.7 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia0.8 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall0.8 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center0.9 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Independence Visitor Center0.9 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hall0.9 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.1 mi away
- The Universal Sphere0.3 mi away
- Reading Terminal0.4 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.6 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- Liberty Bell0.9 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- President's House0.9 mi away
Food & drink
- Burger King0.7 mi away
- Philly Pretzel Factory0.7 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe0.7 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- El Azteca0.7 mi away
- Fat Salmon0.7 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Maya's Pizza & Grill0.7 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center City0.2 mi away · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City0.2 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Holiday Inn Express0.2 mi away · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City0.3 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel0.3 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtown0.3 mi away · 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John Wanamaker
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
PSFS Building
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2005
Completed in 1932 at the depths of the Great Depression, the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building rose as America's first International Style skyscraper—a sleek tower of glass, steel, and stone that rejected the ornate columns and cornices then expected of a bank. Designed to broadcast modernity and stability, it embraced cutting-edge structural engineering, high-speed elevators, and air conditioning, announcing that the future of American architecture had arrived on Market Street.
Sigma Sound Studios
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2015
When engineer Joseph Tarsia opened Sigma Sound Studios in 1968, he gave a home to what became known worldwide as "The Sound of Philadelphia." Working with producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, the studio's lush, string-swept records by The O'Jays, the Stylistics, and others helped define soul music in the 1970s. Its reputation for sonic craft grew so large that artists like David Bowie and Stevie Wonder made pilgrimages to record within its walls.
Robert Cornelius
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1994
In the spring of 1840, only months after photography was announced to an astonished world, the Philadelphia metallurgist and brass founder Robert Cornelius opened one of its very first commercial studios here. Working with chemist Paul Beck Goddard, he found ways to shorten exposure times dramatically — the breakthrough that made it possible to sit for a portrait without holding still for agonizing minutes. Cornelius had already made himself one of the first people ever photographed.
Siegmund Lubin (1851-1923)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1994
From an optical shop on this block in 1897, Siegmund Lubin built one of America's first great motion-picture empires — six studios across five states — earning fame as the first movie mogul. A tinkerer and shrewd marketer, he helped turn flickering novelties into a popular entertainment that drew ordinary Americans into darkened theaters. The industry he helped create outgrew him; bankrupt by 1916, he died in obscurity.