Marry the Man Today:

At Wanamaker's and Saks and Klein's
A lesson I've been taught
You can't get alterations on a dress you haven't bought

At any vegetable market from Borneo to Nome
You mustn't squeeze a melon till you get the melon home

You've simply got to gamble
You get no guarantee
Now doesn't that kind of apply to you and I?
You and me!

Why not?
Why not what?

Marry the man today
Trouble though he may be
Much as he likes to play
Crazy and wild and free
Marry the man today
Rather than sigh in sorrow
Marry the man today
And change his ways tomorrow

I think we can push the date of this photograph back a few years, because Wanamaker's Annex is nowhere to be seen.

[Look closer. - Dave]

Dave, that's not the 14-story building I'm talking about (Wanamaker's Annex, D. H. Burnham & Co., 1903-1907) - you know, the building I described in the paragraph I sent you, before you edited it down to one sentence.

This was taken several years before Ivan Frank and the Hamburger brothers merged to form their extremely successful sports food monopoly.

Boston American, April 16, 1912 - ...The [wireless office of the Wanamaker stores at Broadway and Eighth streets] was directed by David Sarnoff, manager of the station, assisted by J. H. Hughes, an expert Marconi operator. With every bit of energy at their command the men stood by their work and fired scores of messages and caught many concerning the wreck [of the Titanic]. From all over the coast line and far into the interior, even to Chicago, appeals for news of the disaster were heaped upon the temporary office.

Sarnoff went on to become a business and broadcasting legend as leader of both NBC and RCA. The wireless station was in the 14-story annex, built in the years immediately after the 1906 photo was taken.

In 1945 the DuMont Television Network created three studios at Wanamaker's including one of 2,000 square feet, seating 280. DuMont's local station was WABD Channel 5, now WNYW "Fox 5."

Looks like they knew they were getting their picture taken!

I used to work in the early 70's for Amex. It was located in 770 Broadway. It had been the Wanamaker's Annex (were the sign that says "Annex" is in the picture). It had been converted to office space when the store closed. The elevators went from the lobby with he first stop at "3". I never thought about it until some of us decided that instead of waiting for the elevator at five that we would walk down. The stairway still had the old gas jets, but what was really interesting was that there was a door on the second floor (the one that the elevators could not stop at) that said "U S Army Engineers Manhattan District"! I never forgot that.

There's a name you don't see anymore, attached to anything but sandwiches.

Wanamaker's, on the other hand, is so decorous that for the lack of signage, the only way to find it is to stop at the line of waiting Hansom cabs.

was originally A.T. Stewarts store, is now occupied by the Stewart House co-ops. The building in the Shorpy photo burned down in 1956. Wanamaker's other building, one block south still stands.

More about the building here and here.

Pathé has newsreel footage of it burning in July 1956.

I do believe that's Charlie Chaplin, leaning on a lamppost at the corner of the street, in case a certain little lady comes by. Oh me, oh my!