Plan Approved to Move Rocky Statue to Top of Art Museum Steps

The Philadelphia Art Commission has approved moving the famous Rocky statue to the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum's steps. Four commissioners voted in favor of the move, one voted against it, and one abstained.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the project has an estimated budget of $150,000 to $250,000, with initial figures around $150,000. The work includes placing the statue on a pedestal roughly 14 feet back from the top step edge, near the existing shoe-print artwork.

As part of the plan, Creative Philadelphia will create a “Rocky Shuttle” to assist visitors with mobility from the bottom to the top of the steps, operated by the Philadelphia Visitor Center and modeled after the Philly Phlash bus service.

The move to the top of the steps will coincide with the beginning of the exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments.” This Art Museum program is slated to run from April to August.

In the meantime, the Rocky statue that currently stands at the top of the Art Museum's steps — which Sylvester Stallone lent to the city for the inaugural RockyFest in December 2024 — will remain on display outside. Once the exhibit concludes, that statue will return to Stallone's private collection.

A new statue will be installed at the bottom of the steps, according to the Inquirer report, although its identity has not yet been determined. Officials noted it will not be another Rocky statue.

Public opinion on the statue relocation has been divided. In a September 2025 Inquirer poll, 46% of respondents said no Rocky statue belongs at the top of the steps, but the one at the bottom should stay. Approximately 20% said the city should not have a statue of Rocky at all.