Final Night Draws Crowds
On Christmas Eve, the Wanamaker building was filled with visitors eager to witness the historic light display one last time before it enters a two-year pause. The show will be unavailable during the 2026 and 2027 holiday seasons due to construction work.
Generations of Memories
For numerous attendees, the event has been a lifelong tradition. Paulette Steffa displayed a black-and-white photograph from 1956 showing her as a three-year-old at the inaugural presentation.
"I think this is my 14th year coming," said 14-year-old Nora Gradel of Swedesboro, New Jersey. "So every year."
Emily Feehery, who attends annually with her mother Theresa, shared their concerns: "We were really worried. We kind of had a premonition last year that it might be the last time for a while and thankfully Mom took a bunch of pictures of Dickens Village and everything to kind of document."
Community Effort Preserves Tradition
Earlier this year, the show's continuation became uncertain following Macy's closure of its Center City store within the building. The Philadelphia Visitor Center organized a fundraising campaign that secured $500,000 to maintain this season's operations.
"It's been unreal," said Maita Soukup, Vice President of Experience and Engagement for the Philadelphia Visitor Center. "We're seeing on some weekend days 9,000, 10,000 people pouring through these doors."
Gradel expressed deep emotion about potentially losing the custom: "I was so upset, I cried about it. Because I've come here for so long, every year on Christmas Eve we come here and I just couldn't imagine Christmas Eve without it."
Looking Toward the Future
Christmas Eve represented the concluding performances before renovations begin under new ownership. "It's the best Christmas gift we could have is to have Wanamaker's open one more time," Steffa remarked.
Allie Bonner of Brewerytown commented, "I hope it comes back bigger and better than ever after that closure, but yeah, we're lucky we got here on the last day."
Chris Carroll, now residing in Washington D.C. but raised locally, stated, "It was a relief. There was some speculation last year about them not bringing it back, or maybe bringing it back. So we love it, and we hope they continue it either somewhere else or whenever the renovations are complete."
Soukup confirmed ongoing involvement: "The Visitor Center is in partnership with the building and we want to do everything we can to keep this tradition alive."
Future building plans are still evolving, with preliminary proposals suggesting retail spaces on the first three floors and loft apartments on upper levels.
