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 movie prop. We speak to people who wait in line to snap a picture or run up the Art Museum steps to find out what motivates this pilgrimage. Their surprising answers take us across the globe and range from quirky to deep.

Show Notes

• Laura Holzman’s book Contested Image: Defining Philadelphia for the Twenty-First Century.


• 6ABC News clips from the Temple University Libraries Digital Collections.


• Website for Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown.


• Learn more about Haseeb Payab’s journey from Afghanistan to Philly in this article from the Philadelphia Inquirer.


• Visiting the Rocky Statue and Art Museum Steps.


• The official Rocky Statue website.