This day last year (2018) I took my nephew to the city, and we went to watch the Wanamaker Light Show. As we waited a gentleman offered to show us the organ console up close, and we got to hang out and watch the light show from the console, then witness the finale get played on the mighty Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia, literally the largest fully-functional musical instrument on the planet…
It was really cool to watch it “boot up” and watch the organist monitor all the blowers (I think 7 total) as they come online. Plus being slightly hearing impaired, it was awesome to get that close to where you have no choice but to FEEL it. Knowing how many moving parts and electro-mechanical parts this thing has, it’s so remarkable how well it runs and how much restoration work its taken to bring her back up to speed.
You can find the web site for the non-profit that restores and maintains the organ here: https://wanamakerorgan.com/. They do regular tours of it during non-holiday season, as well as do a couple shows each year. It has quite a history here in Philly!