The Wanamaker Light Show and Dickens Village will not operate in Philadelphia during the 2026 holiday season as renovations continue inside the historic Wanamaker Building in Center City.
Both attractions are on a two-year hiatus while the building undergoes a major redevelopment. The holiday traditions are expected to remain paused through the 2027 season.
Their longtime home is the Wanamaker Building at 100 E. Penn Square, across from Philadelphia City Hall.
The 2024 holiday season became the final year visitors experienced the light show and Dickens Village inside an operating department store. Macy’s had occupied the first three floors of the Wanamaker Building since 2006 before announcing in January 2025 that the store in that location would close.
The closure initially put the future of both attractions in question.
Despite the store’s closure, the Philadelphia Visitor Center led an effort to bring the attractions back for the 2025 holiday season. A fundraising campaign supported by more than 1,000 contributors helped cover the cost of presenting the free holiday attractions.
The Wanamaker Light Show returned to the building’s Grand Court on Nov. 28, 2025, while Dickens Village reopened on the third floor. The village allowed visitors to walk through scenes depicting Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The light show, a Philadelphia holiday tradition that began in 1956, was again accompanied by performances on the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ.
Dickens Village debuted in 1985 at Strawbridge & Clothier’s flagship store at Eighth and Market streets, where visitors walked through animated scenes. After Strawbridge’s closed, Macy’s moved the display to the Wanamaker Building in 2006, where it joined the light show.
New York-based TF Cornerstone is redeveloping the Wanamaker Building into a mixed-use property. Philadelphia approved zoning permits in 2025 for plans that include about 600 apartments, retail space and rooftop decks. Construction is expected to affect the building during both the 2026 and 2027 holiday seasons, forcing the light show and Dickens Village to pause.
In previous stories, the Philadelphia Visitor Center said it is continuing discussions with TF Cornerstone about bringing the holiday traditions back to the Wanamaker Building after construction.
“The Philadelphia Visitor Center remains deeply committed to preserving these iconic attractions and is in conversation with building owner TF Cornerstone to continue these holiday traditions at the Wanamaker Building in future years,” the organization said in 2025.
(Photo by Bruce Andersen)
