The bronze statue of Rocky Balboa stands at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's famous steps, arms raised in the pose from the end of the training montage in the original film. It was created by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg for Rocky III in 1982, placed atop the museum steps for the film, and moved to a permanent spot at the base of the stairs after the museum declined to keep it at the top. The debate about where it belongs has been quietly ongoing ever since.
Philadelphia's relationship with the Rocky films is complicated and affectionate. The city knows it is home to Benjamin Franklin, the Liberty Bell, and the Constitution — and also knows that a significant percentage of its visitors are primarily here to run up the Art Museum steps to the theme from Rocky. The statue is a good sport about this. The steps themselves are the real attraction: a long upward run with a panoramic view of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the city skyline at the top. The museum at the summit is one of the great art museums in the country, and the entrance to it lies about 30 feet from where most visitors are taking photos.