The Statue
In a moment of reckoning and reimagining for monuments, why do millions of people each year from around the world visit Philly’s Rocky Statue? What does a statue celebrating a fictional boxer tell us about how we memorialize some stories over others? Monument Lab's Paul Farber dives deep into the story of the statue to the greatest Philadelphian who never lived.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 19 minutes
- Episodes
- 7
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2023
Going the Distance
We receive a mysterious micro-cassette containing a 20-year-old voicemail message from Sylvester Stallone. It allows us to tap into the mind of the man himself — uncovering why he created Rocky and w…
Casting Rocky in Bronze
We journey to the bright lights of Hollywood to meet Rocky’s original sculptor, A. Thomas Schomberg. Also, we glimpse at rare, behind-the-scenes photos of Stallone and the artist during the statue’s …
Rocky’s Stoop
In a city that has seen dramatic change since Rocky’s time, why do so many still identify with this movie character? We tour the neighborhoods where Rocky lived to understand their modern-day challen…
“A Real Fighter”
Ask the average person who’s the most famous boxer from Philadelphia and they’re likely to reply with “Rocky Balboa.” In fact, it was the real-life heavyweight champion Joe Frazier who ran up the Art…
Life Imitates Art
We go down the Rocky rabbit hole to understand how the fictional fighter grew from one man’s rough sketch into a global icon. Exploring Stallone’s Instagram art history lessons, interviews about his …
Patron Saint of the Underdog
An estimated 4 million people visit the Rocky Statue every year. That’s more than double the amount that go to the Liberty Bell. Surprising for a monument that the city once rejected as merely a movi…
Trailer: The Statue
The Statue, the story of a monument to the greatest Philadelphian who never lived, from WHYY Digital Studios. Coming in 2023.