A nearly 10-foot bronze statue of iconic movie character “Rocky” resides to the right of the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Based on the character of the same name that debuted in the popular film, visiting the statue and climbing these steps is considered by many to be a rite of passage by many who visit Philadelphia. That significance underscores the tremendous impact that a monument can create when it comes to represent a legacy that both residents and visitors can identify with and embrace.
From Movie Prop to Icon of Philadelphia
Rocky is a 1976 American boxing sports drama film that became critically acclaimed and made a star out of Sylvester Stallone, who played the titular character. The scene of the character running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum has become iconic and is directly related to the pose of the Rocky Statue.
Cast in bronze and weighing approximately three tons, the statue was created by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg as a commission from Stallone himself for the third film in the Rocky series. The Rocky Statue depicts Stallone as the Rocky character, with his arms raised after a victory in the boxing ring. At one time the Rocky Statue actually resided at the top of the stairs it made famous but has been moved several times over the years. It is now on a corner in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, still in the direct vicinity of those stairs.
The statue has become a popular spot for pictures, which are often followed by or just before a sprint up the steps just like Stallone did in the movie. That popularity has fueled the inclusion of the monument on tours of the city as well as in countless items that are available for sale. These items range from books to shirts to other pieces of memorabilia.
While the Rocky Statue has not come to represent the city of Philadelphia itself like other iconic statues or famous celebrities, it nonetheless has been able to give Philadelphia a hometown hero to celebrate that has spurred the creation of a legacy that transcends the movie and character.
Identity, Engagement and Legacy
Like other monuments associated with movies, the Rocky Statue has allowed both residents and visitors to identify with something that’s meaningful to them on a deeply personal level. In doing so, the statue has come to showcase what it can mean for a monument to create a sense of identity while enabling engagement that does everything to create direct economic opportunities to feed into a bigger legacy for an entire city.
