It’s a Knockout!

Nov 20

“Rocky Statue” is still a huge hit in Philly

**All day, every day, visitors flock to the “Rocky Statue” on the Ben Franklin Parkway near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of “Real Philly History, Real Fast.”**

As I came out of the Independence Visitor Center on Philadelphia’s Market Street one Sunday afternoon, two New Jersey residents stopped and asked me: “How do we get to the “Rocky Statue?”

That’s a common question. For many Philly visitors, “Rocky” is a must-see … and often their first stop.

Even though the “Rocky Statue” is 2.5 miles away from the Independence Hall area, millions of tourists find their way each year to the statue and the “Rocky Steps” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

4 million visitors a year?

Some experts estimate four million people a year travel to the “Rocky Steps.” That would be second only to Independence National Historical Park (INHP) … which includes the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the President’s House, Carpenters’ Hall and more. The Pew Charitable Trusts say INHP attracts more than five million people annually. So the “Rocky Statue” is one of Philadelphia’s top tourist attractions.

The “Rocky Statue” has moved multiple times

Traveling a torturous path, the “Rocky Statue” took 16 years to reach its final destination. Created in 1980 by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg for “Rocky III,” and commissioned by writer-actor Sylvester Stallone, the statue first appeared in the movie atop the Art Museum steps.

Later it was placed outside the Spectrum in South Philadelphia, temporarily moved back to the Art Museum steps for several movies, then even went into storage for a time. Art critics said it wasn’t art. Sports fans pointed out that “Rocky,” although not a real person, is one of Philly’s most popular Philadelphia icons ever.

Fortunately, on Sept. 8, 2006, the “Rocky Statue” finally landed at its current compromise location near the Art Museum steps … and quickly became one of Philly’s prime go-to spots for tourists and residents alike.

New “Rocky Shop” just opened

In October 2023, with the help of a $100,000 donation from Sylvester Stallone, the Philadelphia Visitor Center opened a new “Rocky Shop” with licensed and other merchandise next to the steps. For the first year the city will get a percentage of gross sales. I took a tour of Polish miners up the “Rocky Steps” the first or second day the shop was in business. Unfortunately, the shop was closed for lunch and the tour bus had to be on its way. But I’m sure my next Polish tour will race into the shop.

Interesting Oddities:

The low-budget 1976 “Rocky” film, written and starred in by Philly’s Sylvester Stallone, became a monumental success, surprisingly taking the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year in 1977. It also won for Best Director and Best Film Editing.
While Stallone had been thinking about the story for ten months, he wrote the script about this underdog Philly fighter in just 2 1/2 days. Later, he did two more drafts. He got the idea for the story while watching a 1975 championship fight between Chuck Wepner, also known as “the Bayonne Bleeder” and champ Mohammed Ali. The tenacious Wepner went 15 rounds with Ali and even knocked him down in the 9th. But Ali won in the end.
Although he was broke, Stallone turned down numerous lucrative offers for the script from studio honchos who wanted to use big-name stars like Bert Reynolds, Nick Nolte, Robert Redford, Ryan O’Neal and James Caan … until he could star in it. That was an excellent career decision. He reportedly received $360,000 for his script. And he’s made gobs of money on the various Rocky movies since then.
Rocky was a low-budget movie produced for about $1.1 million. The film crew found the Art Museum steps while driving around the city searching for suitable locations. Filming, done with no permits and no extras, took 28 days … “the gestation days for a water bug,” Stallone says.
“Rocky’s run up the Art Museum steps was filmed by the “Steadicam,” invented by fellow Philadelphian Garrett Brown. Stallone originally intended to carry his own dog, Butkus, up the steps, but the dog was too heavy. He does lift his dog Punchy atop the steps at the end of his run in “Rocky Balboa.”
Stallone wanted to use Philly heavyweight boxing champ Joe Frazier in “Rocky III,” but got more fight than he bargained for. Frazier hit him with a punch that Stallone said felt like “a falling piano.” Stallone got stitches and the experiment ended. A WHYY podcast said, “It was a reminder that deep down, actors act and boxers box.”
When he’s in town, Stallone enjoys visiting the “Rocky Statue” and signing autographs. You’ll also find large Rocky lookalikes there who look and talk exactly like Rocky and will charge you money for photos with them. One day I thought I saw the real Stallone there … but it was a “re-enactor.”

His “favorite place ever” is at the “Rocky Steps”

Stallone loves looking from the top of the “Rocky Steps” down the Ben Franklin Parkway toward City Hall and center city. He once told CBS Sunday Morning: “It’s my favorite place ever. I swear. I feel like, you could do anything from up here.”

He did, creating a Philly icon that’s recognized around the world … and attracts millions of people here every year to the “Rocky Steps.”

Fast Facts

Statue’s Name: “Rocky”

Statue’s Sculptor: A. Thomas Schomberg

Year Created: 1980 for “Rocky III” movie

Statue’s Cost: Stallone bought it for $403,657

Size of Statue: About 12' 6" tall, per SCP Auctions

Weight of Statue: About 1800 lbs., per SCP Auctions

Number of “Rocky” Steps: 72

Number of “Rocky” Movies (so far): 9

Cost to Shoot the 1976 “Rocky” Movie: $1.1 million

Number of Days to Shoot It: 28 days

Gross Proceeds Estimated by Jack Doyle of PopHistoryDig.com back in 2009: Over $1 billion from the films, with another $100 to $200 million from other “Rocky” merchandise. Who knows what the value is today?