Another in a series of PhillyChitChat’s. Also be sure to subscribe to PhillyChitChat, at bottom of post or click HERE
I will be posting more regularly now that social season is upon us….thanks
Sometimes I only catch the news when it hits the Inquirer. Last week they ran a piece about Philly getting a Rocky statue at the airport—but it was confusing. I was probably confused with my food poisoning. The article left me wondering were they moving the Sly Stallone’s statue at the top of the steps, which is on loan to us by Sly himself, to the airport.
Anyone who knows the Art Museum, knows that in 2025 there is already two Rocky statues there: the famous one at the base of the steps, and another at the top of Rocky Stairs.
I live across the street, and wrote about the second one back in December 2024, when it arrived to commemorate Rocky Month in Philly. It was supposed to be a surprise but if someone doesn’t say mums the word, I wouldn’t know not to write about it beforehand.
Sorta like this event. Had someone told me not to write about it before it happened, I wouldn’t have sent photos to CBSPhilly where it was seen by 10 million people before the Vogue photos published. BTW I was estatic to capture Rocky i this very iconic photo of the Sheryl Lee Ralph and Sen Vincent Hughes vow renewal, especially since I am a Rocky statue stan. Anywhoo back to our Rocky story…
Originally Sly’s statue at the top of the stairs, was supposed to go back in January 2025, I was told, and I wrote about it so people could hurry and get their once in a lifetime photo with it. Sure enough it disappeared on January 5.
THEN lo and behold it showed up at the top of the steps on February 13th, for the Eagles Super Bowl Celebration, which I broke on Instagram.
Today It’s still there, and it will be at the Art Museum at least through December 2026, when Rocky celebrates it’s 50th year since the movie debut.
But Mums the word I already told you too much…stay tuned.
article about 3rd statue heading to the PHL Airport.
It’s great to see the Association for Public Art finally embrace the Rocky statue. Love it or not, it’s one of the city’s biggest tourist draws—and it is real art, created by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg.
A decade ago, after years of pushing, the Assoc of Art finally lit the statue so visitors could safely enjoy it at night. Back then, the answer to my complaints was always, “It’s not real art.”
Today’s generation of leaders understands its cultural value. Thank you!!
The Three Rocky Statues:
The Art Museum Statue, at the base of Rocky Steps, donated by Sylvester Stallone after Rocky 3 (Stefanie Farr’s article in the Inquirer does a great job at hashing out the details); the one currently at the top of the steps, personally owned by Sylvester Stallone, which he bought at auction, from SCP Auctions in 2017, for over $400,000. The 12-foot tall, 1,800-pound creation had been inside the San Diego Hall of Champions, which is now closed.
Finally the third one going to the Philadelphia airport, created by Schomberg in 2006 for his personal collection. It was stored in the Schomberg Studios in Evergreen, Colorado until it was bought by Philadelphia for $1.5 million.
BUT THERE is a Fourth One: not by Schomberg though. It’s located in Zagreb, Croatia It was made by Croatian artist Boris Staparac, it was erected in 2007.[1] Canadian director Barry Avrich made a documentary film Amerika Idol which depicts the events that preceded the creation of the statue, as well as the ceremony of its installation. The film also features Sylvester Stallone who portrayed the character of Rocky in eight films and A. Thomas Schomberg who made the famous Rocky statue in Philadelphia.[2] (Source)