One of the two Rocky Balboa statues located outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art is on the move Wednesday.
The statue of the fictional boxer at the base of the steps has been one of the city’s most recognizable photo spots for years. Rain or shine, visitors from around the world have lined up to get a picture with it.
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But after years in its current spot, things are changing. On Wednesday, this Rocky statue will be removed from its longtime spot at the bottom of the museum steps and moved inside the museum.
Where is the Rocky statue going?
The relocation is part of a new exhibition, “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” which opens to the public on April 25 and runs through Aug. 2. Â
Visitors will be able to view the city’s Rocky statue inside the museum as part of the exhibition, which examines how the statue evolved into a public monument and a destination for what the museum describes as a global “pilgrimage” site for underdogs. The exhibition will feature more than 150 works by more than 50 artists and artifacts spanning over 2,000 years.
Museum officials say crews are expected to begin the relocation just before noon. For safety, the base of the steps and the area around the statue are closed to the public Wednesday. Temporary lane and sidewalk closures are also expected along Spring Garden Street between Kelly Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Around 9 a.m., workers had wrapped the statue in a protective layer and strapped it to a crane, ready to be lifted up.
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A tale of three Rocky statues
The Rocky statue was one of three created in 1980 by the sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg and has grown into one of Philadelphia’s most visited landmarks. What began as a movie prop for “Rocky III” has become a symbol tied not only to the Rocky franchise, but also to the city itself — drawing tourists, runners and fans who make the stop part of their Philadelphia experience. Â
When the statue at the base of the steps moves indoors, there will still be a Rocky statue at the art museum. Another one of Schomberg’s casts of the statue — this one on loan from Sylvester Stallone’s private collection — sits at the top of the Rocky Steps and will remain outside during the exhibition.Â
After the exhibit ends, that statue will be returned to Stallone. The city’s statue will then take its place at the top of the steps.
A third Schomberg cast of the statue sits at Philadelphia International Airport.
The empty space at the base of the steps could soon be occupied by a statue of Smokin’ Joe Frazier, a real-life boxer who lived and trained in Philadelphia, and was the first to beat Muhammad Ali.
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