We checked out Philadelphia's new Portal installation
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The Portal is live in Philly so I had to check it out for myself.
Catch up quick: The nearly 12-foot-tall circular art installation turned on Tuesday in LOVE Park, where it's cordoned off by metal bike racks.
How it works: The Portal's all-hours live video feed (no audio) connects Philly to Portals in Dublin; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland.
- The livestream rotates every 3 minutes between the locations.
- The Portal will remain in LOVE Park until Nov. 7, and then will move to a yet-to-be-disclosed location in the city.
🤔 What we're watching: The city and Portals.org are working to keep the installation in Philly long-term.
- "The goal is to keep this in Philadelphia permanently … and that's what we're working towards," Michael Newmuis, the city's 2026 director, tells Axios.
👀 What I saw: Over my hourlong visit, the Portal attracted a steady stream of onlookers.
- Some carried signs, one of which read "Joy."
🦅 Meanwhile, people in other cities have shown their support for Philly, including flashing Phillies and Eagles gear.
- A person in Lithuania held up a sign that read "GO BIRDS." Epic.
🐢 1 bummer: The Portal's livestream was slow and glitchy at times, freezing and pixelating those on the feed.
