The Rocky statue at the Spectrum in Philly.   "Arms raised in victory" — commissioned by Sylvester Stallone for his 1982 Rocky III, a film series that seemed never to end. The bronze boxer stood at the top of the Art Museum's 72 step-entrance, and when the filming was completed, the actor left the statue in place as a gift to the city. City Commerce Director Dick Doran was thrilled with the gift saying Stallone had done more for the city's image "than anyone since Ben Franklin." Cultural and museum officials were horrified, terming the statue an ugly "movie prop." The public flooded the newspapers and city Art Commission with tons of mail, pro and con. The debate raged for months. Polls showed Philadephians equally divided. "Put it near the Liberty Bell," wrote a Daily News reader. "Dump it in the Schuylkill," wrote another. Countless tourists and residents climbed the steps to see and be photographed next to Rocky. People who had never been inside the museum, at least, got close to the entrance. In the end, the Art Commission decided the Spectrum sports arena sidewalk was the logical permanent address for the fictional heavyweight contender. The whole emotional tempest blew up anew in 1990 when the statue was temporarily placed atop the Museum steps for Rocky V then returned to the Spectrum. There is no debate among tour guides about the lasting fame the Rocky saga brought to Philadelphia and the Museum of Art. Thousands still climb the steps and strike a Rocky-like pose. Few foreign visitors know or care about Betsy Ross or Carpenters Hall. But their eyes light up in recognition when they see the Museum's steps. And quite a few visitors, foreign and domestic, somehow find their way to the Spectrum in deep South Philly to photograph the movie prop. - reproduced from http://www.ushistory.org/oddities/rocky.htm   © Mike Lynaugh