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The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps

One of the top tourist attractions of Philadelphia is the Rocky Statue and Rocky Steps.

The Rocky Steps  [72 stone steps] lead you to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Rocky Statue is to the right of Rocky Steps.

The Rocky Statue was commissioned by Sylvester Stallone for Rocky III in 1982. It was installed on top of the steps, but was later relocated at the bottom. The statue has been moved around a few times because he was considered a “movie prop” and not “art”.  But since 2006, the Rocky statue was returned to the Art Museum.

The Rocky film scene has become a cultural icon. Many tourists visit the steps to recreate the scene themselves. Rocky is a series of boxing films based on the eponymous, fictional character Rocky Balboa, played in each film by Sylvester Stallone. The films by order of release date are: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), Rocky Balboa (2006) and Creed (2015). The film series has grossed more than US$1 billion at the worldwide box office. All of the films were written by Stallone except for Creed, which was written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington. The original film and the fifth installment were directed by John G. Avildsen, Creed was directed by Coogler, and Stallone directed the others.

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The Rocky Statue.

Before Rocky III, released in 1982, Sylvester Stallone commissioned A. Thomas Schomberg to create a bronze statue of Rocky. Three 2-ton, 10-foot-tall copies were cast. One was installed atop the steps for the filming of Rocky III, and was ultimately relocated at the bottom of the steps. The second Rocky is in the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum in San Diego, California. The third was planned, but was not cast, or rather, it is unknown if the third was ever cast.

After filming was complete, a debate arose between the Art Museum and Philadelphia’s Art Commission over the meaning of “art”. City officials, who argued that the Rocky statue was not “art” but a “movie prop”, eventually moved it to the front of the Philadelphia Spectrum. It was later returned to the Art Museum for the filming of Rocky V, Mannequin and Philadelphia, then brought back to the Spectrum. The statue was replaced with a bronze inlay of Converse sneaker footprints with the name “Rocky” above them.

On September 8, 2006, the Rocky statue was returned to the Art Museum and placed on a pedestal in a grassy area near the foot of the steps to the right of the Museum. The unveiling ceremony included live music, the debut of the first full trailer for Rocky Balboa, and a free showing of the first Rocky movie. At the ceremony, Philadelphia Mayor John Street said that the steps were one of Philly’s biggest tourist attractions, and that Stallone, a native New Yorker, had become “the city’s favorite adopted son.”

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The Rocky Steps

The 72 stone steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have become known as the “Rocky Steps” as a result of their appearance in the triple-Oscar-winning film Rocky and five of its sequels, Rocky II, III, V, Rocky Balboa and Creed. Sylvester Stallone runs up the steps to the song “Gonna Fly Now”.

In the photo is my niece Rini Sinha climbing the Rocky Steps. She ran up the stairs. Then she made me climb the steps too! Ohh I am so glad I did!!!

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“Mounted Amazon Attacked by a Panther” by August Kiss, and “The Lion Fighter” by Albert Wolff flank the museum steps.

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In Eakins Oval, a mounted George Washington is poised to lead a march down the Parkway. Allegorical figures surround his pedestal, while the lower levels portray “typical” American people and animals.

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