The Philadelphia Museum of Art from the Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. PA.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art was originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition when Philadelphia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The museum administers collections containing over 240,000 objects including major holdings of European, American and Asian origin. The various classes of artwork include sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armor, and decorative arts. Besides being known for its architecture and collections, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has in recent decades become known due to the role it played in the Rocky film. Visitors to the museum are often seen mimicking Rocky Balboa’s famous run up the east entrance stairs, informally nicknamed the Rocky Steps. Screen Junkies named the museum’s stairs the second most famous movie location behind only Grand Central Station in New York. The museum provides the backdrop for concerts and parades because of its location at the end of the Ben Franklin Parkway which also has an international flavor by being lined with flags of countries from around the world.