Rocky made way. Joe Frazier takes center stage in Philly
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The statue of Joe Frazier stands tall at the bottom of the art museum steps. Photo: Mike D'Onofrio/Axios
The Joe Frazier statue that's stood in South Philly for more than a decade has landed at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps.
Why it matters: "Smokin' Joe" is getting one of the city's most prominent public stages, taking over the site once occupied by Philly's Rocky statue.
The big picture: The addition to the art museum footprint — joining a loaned Rocky statue at the top of the steps — caps a yearslong battle to spotlight Philly's adopted son and heavyweight champion of the world.
- The competing Rocky-Frazier narratives have duked it out among their supporters in Philly for decades.
- Frazier, an African American, is Philly's top real-life boxer: An Olympic gold medalist who improbably rose to the sport's pantheon of fighters. He also trained in the city and on the art museum steps.
- But it is Rocky Balboa — a white, fictional boxer — who has become the city's most recognizable fighter, synonymous with Philly's underdog spirit and grit.
What they're saying: "We will forever remember that the city got right what it had got wrong for a long, long time," Mayor Cherelle Parker said Monday at the unveiling, noting Frazier's story helped to inspire Sylvester Stallone's character.
- "If you never thought that telling the truth about history has mattered — so many people wouldn't be trying to stop us from documenting [it] in a very formal way," Parker said, referring to Frazier's story.
The intrigue: Whether the so-called Rocky steps will become known as the Rocky-Fraizer steps.
- The city's original Rocky statue — which was featured in "Rocky III" and is part of an exhibit inside the museum — will be relocated to the top of the steps in the fall.
Zoom out: The Frazier relocation comes as the city works to diversify its public art.
- That includes the Octavius Catto Memorial outside City Hall and forthcoming statues of Harriet Tubman and Sadie Alexander.
1 cool thing: The Rocky Shop at the base of the art museum steps is selling Frazier merch, including T-shirts ($34), hats ($35) and a replica championship belt ($285).
