In 1877, John Wanamaker opened the United State's first modern department store in a former Pennsylvania Railroad freight terminal in Philadelphia. Wanamakers was the first department store to offer fixed prices marked on every article and also introduced electrical illumination (1878), the telephone (1879), and the use of pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents (1880) to the department store business. Subsequent department stores founded in Philadelphia included Strawbridge and Clothier, Gimbels, Lit Brothers, and Snellenbergs.
Who opened the original "modern" department store in America? What feature made Wanamakers different from other stores at the time?  How were important documents and money transported throughout the store?  When was electric lighting first installed and used in the store?  In what state was Wanamakers established? 