The bronze icon of Sylvester Stallone’s under‑dog hero has been handed a new chapter by Philadelphia’s cultural leaders. The city’s art board voted to lift the eight‑and‑a‑half‑foot figure back onto the museum’s front steps, where it originally helped the 1982 sequel “Rocky III” kick off a beloved film legacy, according to a report by the New York Times.
Originally conceived in 1980 by artist A. Thomas Schomberg, the statue has been a traveling fixture, leaving metal tracks wherever it stood. Its most recent home had been the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, a spot that once proudly hosted the hero’s first on‑screen appearance in 1976.
Fans and critics have debated its presence beside works by the great masters housed in the museum, and some sports lovers have called for a statue of Philadelphia legend Joe Frazier instead.
In an earlier move, Creative Philadelphia had almost returned the piece to Stallone himself, a plan that was later abandoned after the actor expressed full support for the statue’s keeping in the city’s public space.
Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Valeire V. Gay, the city’s chief cultural officer, explained that “the strong, heartfelt feedback from the community led us to decide we will no longer move forward with the statue swap.”
She added that the decision reflected a shared commitment to listening closely to the public and honoring both the artwork and the people who love it.
The board’s final decision, adopted with a 3‑to‑1 vote and two abstentions, will see the statue stand once more at the top of the museum’s steps for a temporary period. The feature is set to be part of a new exhibition titled “Rising Up:
Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” slated to run from April through August. Although two additional copies have been produced over the years, it is the original statue that has aroused the most excitement and controversy in the Pennsylvania city.
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