Rocky Balboa Art Museum Steps: Where to Find Them

The Rocky Balboa art museum steps lead to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s east entrance at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Visit Philadelphia identifies the climb as 72 steps, while the museum gives that address for its main building. The city’s Rocky statue is at the top of the steps, so the address is useful for finding both the climb and the statue. Look for the east entrance when you arrive at the museum.

The outdoor landmarks and the museum galleries can be planned as separate parts of a visit. Visit Philadelphia says visiting the Rocky Steps and photographing the Rocky statue are free, while the museum lists an admission charge for adults. The distinction matters when you are deciding how much time and money to allow: an outdoor stop does not require you to add a gallery visit to your plan.

The museum address is the starting point for either choice. If you also want to enter the galleries, check the museum’s current hours and admission information before traveling. Visitors who plan to drive should check parking rates as well, since the museum lists those separately from admission.

Rocky (1976), directed by John G. Avildsen, features Sylvester Stallone running up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps as Rocky Balboa. Visit Philadelphia identifies the original film as the source of the run associated with the landmark. The steps in Philadelphia lead to the museum’s east entrance and comprise 72 steps, giving visitors a specific place to connect with the scene.

The original film and Rocky Balboa (2006), directed by Sylvester Stallone, are separate installments in the franchise. The later film has its own page, while the run identified by Visit Philadelphia belongs to Rocky (1976). That distinction is useful when searching for the scene or reading about a visit, because Rocky Balboa is both the character’s name and the title of a later film.

John G. Avildsen said the original script already included Rocky running up the stairs twice. Garrett Brown later filmed the museum steps with his Steadicam, after demonstration footage brought his equipment to Avildsen’s attention. For the location itself, use the museum’s main building address and look for the east entrance; for the film connection, look for the original Rocky.

Garrett Brown filmed the museum steps for Rocky (1976) with his Steadicam, a camera support system that reduced the shaking produced by a moving operator. Brown’s demonstration footage helped connect John G. Avildsen with Brown and his equipment. Avildsen said the original script already included Rocky running up the stairs twice, so the footage did not introduce the location to the script.

In a 2014 interview published by the Motion Picture Association, Brown recalled filming his girlfriend Ellen running up and down the museum steps. Avildsen saw the demonstration and recognized his assistant, Ralph Hotchkiss, in the background, giving him someone to ask about the stairs and the equipment. Brown and Avildsen then happened to be working in neighboring Hollywood studios, and Brown arranged to approach the director wearing his rig.

Brown returned to the Philadelphia steps with Stallone a few months later. Avildsen also recalled that the producers initially wanted to shoot the entire film in Hollywood, but he secured three or four days in Philadelphia. Much of the training montage came from that location visit with a small crew. When revisiting the scene, watch how the camera moves with Rocky during the climb.

Visiting the Rocky Steps and photographing the Rocky statue are free, according to Visit Philadelphia. The city’s statue stands at the top of the steps, which lead to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s east entrance. You can plan the climb and a photograph as an outdoor stop, using the museum’s main building address at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway to locate it.

Museum admission and parking are separate costs to consider. As checked on November 4, 2026, the Philadelphia Museum of Art lists standard adult admission at $30 and visitor parking at $9 per hour. The museum also lists a $10 total parking rate on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. Those prices apply to different parts of a visit, so the free outdoor stop and a paid gallery visit should be considered separately.

The Friday parking figure is a total rate for the stated time period, while the standard visitor rate is listed per hour. Check the museum’s current prices and hours before traveling, especially if you expect to use parking or enter the galleries. The address remains useful for planning both the outdoor stop and a museum visit.

The city’s Rocky statue is at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, where it was installed in its permanent location on September 23, 2026. It stood at the bottom of the steps from 2006 before moving inside for an exhibition in March 2026 and then to the top that September. Older descriptions can therefore refer to a different location from the one visitors should use now.

There is more than one cast of the Rocky statue, which also matters when reading about its history. A. Thomas Schomberg made three bronze casts from the same mold, and a second cast was unveiled atop the steps for RockyFest on December 3, 2024. The 2024 unveiling and the city statue’s permanent installation on September 23, 2026, are separate events involving different casts.

For a current visit, use the top of the Rocky Steps as the location of the city’s statue. Accounts of the earlier position at the bottom and the move into the museum describe stages in that statue’s history. The RockyFest unveiling describes a separate cast, even though it also took place atop the steps.

A. Thomas Schomberg developed the Rocky statue for Rocky III (1982), directed by Sylvester Stallone, using a life mask and training photographs to work on the likeness. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s December 2024 interview with the sculptor traces the commission to an earlier business connection. Stallone had purchased boxing sculptures by Schomberg from a gallery at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas during the late 1970s, before the two had met.

The commission followed an approach from Cynthia Schomberg, the artist’s wife and agent, seeking support for a different memorial. Her husband wanted to honor members of the US Olympic men’s boxing team killed in a 1980 plane crash in Poland. Stallone declined that project but asked about commissioning a sculpture of himself as Rocky for the third film. With a studio visit initially impractical, the mask and photographs supplied working references.

Schomberg told the Inquirer that spreading the statue’s arms too far suggested Superman, while making them too short suggested an arrest. He drew inspiration from the Apollo Belvedere, and Stallone requested a less bulky body after seeing a 28 inch model. Look at the arms and silhouette during a photograph stop to see those choices in the finished figure.

Plan a visit to the Rocky Steps using the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s main building address, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130. The 72 steps lead to the east entrance, and the city’s Rocky statue is at the top. Visit Philadelphia says visiting the steps and photographing the statue are free, so those outdoor activities can be planned without a museum admission charge.

If you plan to park at the museum, allow for a separate parking charge. The museum lists visitor parking at $9 per hour, with a $10 total rate on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. Those figures were checked on November 4, 2026, so consult the museum’s current visitor information before setting out. The Friday rate and its stated hours are useful details to check when choosing the time of your visit.

Decide whether your stop will cover the outdoor landmarks alone or include the museum galleries. The museum lists standard adult admission at $30, separately from parking, as checked on the same date. If you plan to enter the museum, confirm its current hours and admission price along with parking information before your trip.

The city’s Rocky statue moved inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an exhibition in March 2026, before its permanent installation atop the steps that September. The exhibition, Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments, was scheduled for April 25 through August 2, 2026. Guest curator Paul Farber organized the presentation in the museum’s Dorrance Galleries.

The museum announced more than 150 works involving over 50 artists across more than 2,000 years. It framed the exhibition around how communities create monuments and change their meanings over time. The presentation included film clips and photographs alongside sculpture and new commissions, connecting Rocky with questions about public space and civic identity.

The exhibition was scheduled to end before this article’s November update, while the city’s statue was installed at the top of the steps on September 23. The indoor exhibition and the current outdoor location describe different moments in 2026, so older exhibition listings should be read with their dates in mind. Check the museum’s current exhibition calendar before buying admission specifically to see Rocky material inside the galleries.

You can plan a Philadelphia Museum of Art gallery visit alongside a stop at the Rocky Steps, with museum admission budgeted separately. The museum lists standard adult admission at $30, while Visit Philadelphia says visiting the steps and photographing the Rocky statue are free. The admission figure was checked on November 4, 2026, so confirm the current price and museum hours before your trip.

The Rocky Steps offer a connection to the film series through Sylvester Stallone’s run as Rocky Balboa in Rocky (1976). For broader coverage of the franchise, the Rocky movies guide provides a starting point beyond the museum landmark. The steps lead to the museum’s east entrance, making the main building address useful when planning the outdoor stop and a gallery visit together.

Parking is another separate expense if you choose to drive. As checked on November 4, the museum lists visitor parking at $9 per hour and a $10 total rate on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. Before leaving, check the museum’s current admission, hours and parking information, then allow for the costs that apply to your visit.