The Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs is a monument to all the victims of the Holocaust.  The Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs is located at Sixteenth Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Arch Street.  This monument was created by Nathan Rapoport during the year 1964.  This sculpture itself is made of bronze however the base is made of granite.  The Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs depicts flames with figures of which look like they are suffering.  The figures are of men and women intertwined within the flames.  The menorah is represented at the top portion of the monument with the shape of the flames sticking upward.  The Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs was donated to the city of Philadelphia by the Association of the Jewish New Americans.   The overall arrangement of the flames represents the “burning bush” through which God spoke to Moses, where he promises to save is people (Exodus3:2).  The Memorial Committee for the Six Million Jewish Martyrs of the Jewish Committee Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the Association Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Philadelphia both sponsor the annual which is held on Sunday, May fourth.  Each year more than eight hundred people come to the commemoration where there is a special candle lighting ceremony and a presentation.  There also the laying of more than thirty blue and white flowered wreaths, and readings of the names of children who perished because of the Nazis.  Joseph Kahn of the Association of the Jewish Holocaust Survivors made a speech at the opening ceremony, and stated that the yearly memorial service is a “chance to remind the world not to forget, and to as the same question as we’ve asked for so many years, ‘how could this have happened?’”.  The monument has inscriptions in English and in Hebrew.  On the front the inscription reads “Presented to the City of Philadelphia by the Association of Jewish New Americans in cooperation with the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia, April 26 1964”. To the right an inscription reads “ Remember Drancy, Flossenberg, Gross-Rosea, Klooga, Ewow-Janowska, Majdanek, Mauthausen, Newengamme, Auschwitz, Babi-Yar, Belzic, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Chelmno, Dauchau, Ponary, Ravensbruck, Sachsenhausen, Sobibor, Stutthof, Therestenstadt, Trebeinka, Westerbork”.   The inscription in the left reads “The Holocaust 1933-1945.  Now and forever enshrined in memory are the six million Jewish martyrs who perished in concentration camps, ghettos, and gas chambers. In their deepest agony they clung to the image of humanity, and their acts of resistance in the forests and ghettos redeemed the honor of man. Their suffering and heroism are forever branded upon our conscience and shall be remembered from generation to generation”. 

            The Gross Clinic is considered to be one of the most important paintings of Philadelphia history.  Thomas Eakins created this graphic masterpiece during the year 1875.  The surgical instruction in this painting took place in the upper lecture room at Jefferson’s medical hall, in the surgical amphitheater.  The painting depicts Dr. Samuel Gross as the commanding figure, where he stands in the apex of a group of surgical assistants, the patient’s mother, and the patient.  There is also is a clinic clerk, who is sitting behind and just to the left of Dr. Gross, who was taking notes on the operation.  There are students who are sitting in what looks like tot be stadium seating in the hall watching the procedure.  Also in the painting one can see a table with bandages and a box of surgical instruments in the foreground.  There also is a tunnel with two figures standing within it and Thomas Eakins, the creator of The Gross Clinic painting, is sitting just to the right of the tunnel sketching and or writing.  The painting shows Dr. Gross turned towards the student audience instructing them on the procedure of how to remove a piece of diseased bone from the left thigh of the patient.  All of the students seem to be intensely engrossed on Dr. Gross’ instructions.  The patient’s mother is wearing a veil and seems to be kneeling on the ground with her hands clench tensely, as if they were claws, over her eyes.  The patient is an adolescent male and seems to be lying on his right side, on white sheets.  The patient is partially exposed with his buttocks and left thigh, and his feet in grey socks.  The head of the adolescent male is completely covered with a chloroform-soaked towel which was held by the anesthetist at the head of the surgery table.  There are also four other assistants who seem to be holding a retractor or tenaculum to expose the wound.  One of the four other assistants is not clearly as visible as the others because he is partially hidden behind Dr. Gross.  The painting visibly shows fresh bright red blood, which happens to be oozing out of the patients’ wound.  The color of the bright red blood is displayed to be staining the surgeons’ hands, one of which he holds a very blood saturated scalpel, and the bright white sheets on the surgical table.  This painting brought some controversy to the arts.  Some of the public believed that the gory painting was not an appropriate subject matter for painting.  The New York Tribune reporter said, “It is a picture that even strong men find it difficult to look at long, if they can look at it at all; and as for people with nerves and stomachs, the scene is so real that they might as well go to a dissecting room and have done with it.”   The Gross Clinic was submitted for the Centennial’s art exhibition, but because of its graphic nature it was rejected by the selection committee.  The Gross Clinic holds a very important place of documenting the history of medicine because it honors the emergence of surgery as a healing profession rather than it being associated primarily with amputation. 

Government of the People is a symbol of democracy, which suggests a process of continual struggle, mutual support and dedication, and eventual triumph.  It was a part of the City’s Percent for Arts Program and was commissioned specifically for the Municipal Service Building Plaza. The Government of the People sculpture was created by influential cubist artist, Jacques Lipchitz. Before World War II, Jacques Lipchitz fled from Europe and found himself traveling to New York.  New York is where Jacques Lipchitz became of the twentieth century’s major artist. The towering sculpture is made of bronze and the base is made of granite.  The Government of the People sculpture is thirty feet high, however, with the base the sculpture towers over forty-five feet high.   The massive sculpture is a totem pole-like structure, where if you take a closer look one can see a family emerge from the artwork.  One can see a mother, a father and two children.  The family supports a young couple which symbolizes hope for the future of society.   Above the couple there are two mature figures that hold a banner which depicts the seal of the city of Philadelphia.  Lipchitz piece had already been approved by the Arts Commission in 1972, based on a miniature plaster version.  The interesting piece was waiting to be cast in bronze in Italy when suddenly the new mayor Philadelphia decided to stop funding the project.  The new mayor of Philadelphia compared the sculpture as “a load of dumped plaster”.  In the spring of 1973, Jacques Lipchitz died while the projects fate was still being determined by the new mayor of Philadelphia.  For the nation’s bicentennial, the Fairmount Art Association decided to take over Jacques Lipchitz’s project and complete it.  In 1976, just three years after influential cubist artist died, the Government of the People sculpture was finally placed at the southeast corner of the Municipal Services Building Plaza. 

Your Move

Your Move was created exclusively for the Municipal Services Building Plaza.  The interesting creation was created by artist Roger White in the year 1996.  Roger White created the different piece of art out of fiberglass and steel.  The creation Your Move consists of multiple oversized games pieces.  The game pieces which are scattered throughout the Municipal Service Building Plaza are replicas from the games like dominos, Monopoly, Parcheesi, checkers, chess, and bingo. The creative art arrangement is intended to function as a means of memory between childhood experiences and adult responsibility. 

The All Wars Memorial

The All Wars Memorial is located at the corner of Twentieth Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Logan Square of Philadelphia.  The “All Wars Memorial” is a special memorial to honor the African American soldiers and sailors who served in the United States during wartime.  The Pennsylvania Legislature decided in 1927 to have memorial created in honor of the Africian American soldiers and sailors.   J. Otto Schweizer was commissioned to create the special memorial.  J. Otto Schweizer was originally from Zurich, until he moved to the United States.  Schweizer studied in Italy and Germany.  When he moved to the United States he began working out of a Philadelphiastudio in the Tioga neighborhood, where he became to be a specialist in monumental works.  Many of his monuments were commissioned for sites in Pennsylvania.  Schweizer’s bronze statue of General Peter Muhlenburg lies just to the west entrance of the Philadelphia Art Museum.  Also, for the memorial park in Gettysburg, Schweizer created six statues of Civil War generals.  Also, for Valley Forge he created a rather large statue of Friedrich Von Steuben.  Swheizer placed the “torch of life” at the top of the All Wars Memorial, surrounded by three American eagles.  Just below the “torch of life” stands and Allegorical figure of justice, that holds the symbols of honor and reward.   There groups of African American soldiers to the left and right sides of the Allegorical figure, all of which are officers and enlisted men  At the rear of the monument are more Allegorical figures all of which represent the principles of which American wars have been fought.  On the front of the All Wars Memorial there is an inscription that reads “Erected by the Common Wealth pf Pennsylvania in honor of her colored soldiers.”  Also, there is and inscription on the back, which reads “to commemorate the heroism and sacrifice of all colored soldiers who served in the various wars engaged in by the United Statesof America that a lasting record shall be made of there unselfish devotion to duty as an inspiration to future generations.  This monument is dedicated May 30^th, 1934.  On the right side of the monument there is also an inscription which reads “American Revolution, Civil War, Indian Wars”.  There is also an inscription on the left side of the All Wars Monument, which reads “Spanish American War, Phillipine Insurrection, World War, west side of Logan Square, 19^th and the Parkway”.    

 The Team

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program wanted to send the message that teamwork is vital to any community.  Teamwork is even vital for those who are living and working behind bars too.  On the walls of the parking lot of the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program unveils the latest prison mural of the city.  “The Team” is a multi-panel mural that depicts the workers at the Curran Fromhold Corrrectional Facility.  It depicts workers such as Doctors, Nurses, Chefs, Teachers, Social Workers and many others.   There was an unveiling ceremony at the prison in the Northeast.  The mural consists of ten panels all of which depict only a portion of the work that is performed by the correctional employees of the Philadelphia Prison System.  The mural was created by the Mural Arts Program artists and working along side them was lead artist, Michael Webb and inmates.  The mural took about nine months be created.  The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program thought that incorporating some of the inmates for the creation and design of the mural speaks to the mural program’s plan for rehabilitation through art. 

            It all started back in the 1980’s when the Rocky III movie was released.  The Rocky statue was placed at the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps, overlooking the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, while the movie was being filmed and remained there for many months afterwards.  The statue was donated by director, writer, and actor Sylvester Stallone at the completion of the Rocky III movie and had requested that the statue stay in the Philadelphia Art Museum area.  City Commerce Director, Dick Doran was thrilled with the donation of the statue and said that Sylvester Stallone had done more the cities image than anyone since Benjamin Franklin.  The large bronze statue created a large debate between the Philadelphia Art Museum and the City’s Art Commission.  The City’s Art Commission were outraged by this statue and debated that the statue was just a movie prop and was not considered to be “art”.  Philadelphia’s newspapers and city art commission began to be flooded with mail on the Rocky statue issue.  The statue was soon moved to South Philadelphia, where it remained for several years outside the Wachovia Spectrum.  The Statue returned to the Art Museum steps during the filming of Rocky V, and was also there for the filming of the movies Mannequin and Philadelphia as well.  The big bronze statue returned to the outside of the Wachovia Spectrum after the movies were done being filmed.   The statue was replaced with a simple pair of converse sneaker footprints, which were also made of bronze, with the words “Rocky” above them.  Discussion about the statue arose again when Sylvester Stallone announced that he was to begin the production on the movie Rocky Balboa, the sixth installment in the series, even though the statue does not appear in the movie.  In September of 2008, the City had finally decided on a permanent place for the statue.  The famous statue returned to the Philadelphia Art Museum again on September 8^, 2006.  The statue was placed on pedestal at the bottom of the steps, on the edge of Eakins Oval.  The grassy area was absolutely perfect for the statue and gave the tourists the opportunity to visit the famous statue.  Tourists could also relive the Rocky pose just up the stairs, making the tourist’s visiting experience even more exciting.  There was a huge unveiling ceremony for the famous statue.  The unveiling ceremony consisted of live music, the debut of the first full trailer for Rocky Balboa, and a free showing of the first Rocky movie.  Mayor John Street had attended the ceremony, and said that the Philadelphia Art Museum steps were one of Philly’s biggest tourist attractions.  Mayor John Street also said that Sylvester Stallone, a native New Yorker, had been gladly adopted by Philadelphia.  Sylvester Stallone commissioned A. Thomas Schomberg to create the Famous Rocky statue.  Schomberg did not just create one two ton, ten foot bronze statue; he created three, and luckily Philadelphia is home to two of them.  The first statue is located in Eakin’s Park, the bottom of the Art Museum steps.  The second is located at the International Institute for Sport and Olympic History. The third statue was sold on EBay to a private owner.

            LOVE Park is located at the eastern end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and across from City Hall.  LOVE Park was designed by Edmond Bacon, a former city planner for Philadelphia, and Vincent Kling, an architect.  LOVE Park was originally built as an ending point for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.  The LOVE sculpture was designed by Robert Indiana and was first placed in the plaza as part of the United States Bicentennial Celebration.  The sculpture was removed in 1978, but many people missed it.  Eugene Dixon, Jr., the chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission, bought the LOVE sculpture and put it permanently placed it in the JFK plaza.  The parks large space, granite surfaces, curved steps made it an attractive location for skateboarders.  LOVE park’s international reputation grew greatly as the skateboarding locale was strengthened by some the most famous skateboarders. Skateboarders such as Josh Kalis, Steve Williams, and Ricky Oyola made their names in the skateboarding industry by being identified with their frequent uses of LOVE parks’ stairways and ledges.  LOVE Park’s popularity increased so much that it was chosen sight to host the 2001 and 2002 X-Games.  In 2002, Mayor John Street planned to enforce a ban on skateboarding at LOVE Park.  Fines for skateboarding increased, as well as his focus for the ban of “skateboarding on all public properties unless otherwise authorized”, which decreased the skateboarding activities at the park.  Street plans for finalizing the ban was to start a remodeling plan, where there would be more grass, flowers and replace the stone benches with wooden benches.  Soon, during Mayor Street’s reelection campaign, the skateboarding became a minor issue when his opponent briefly skateboarded in LOVE Park.  Mayor Street countered his opponent by promising to create a city-owned location for skaters.  On the first of June in 2004, LOVE Park re-opened to skaters. 

The Swan Memorial Park

        The Swan Memorial Fountain is also called the “Fountain of Three Rivers”.  The fountain is located at 19^th street and the Parkway, in the center of the circle at Logan Square. The fountain was built as a memorial to Doctor Wilson Cary Swann, the founder of the Philadelphia Fountain Society. The Swan Memorial Fountain was designed by Alexander Stirling Calder, a sculptor, and Wilson Eyre, an architect. Calder created three large African American figures, which each represent Philadelphia’s three major waterways: the Delaware River, the Schuylkill River, and the Wissahickon Creek. 

        The first figure on the fountain is a young girl who is leaning on her side against an agitating, water-spouting swan.  The swan is a pun for Doctor Wilson Cary Swann’s name.  This figure represents the Wissahickon Creek.  The second figure on the Swan Memorial Fountain is a mature woman who is holding the neck of a swan.  This figure represents the Schuylkill River.  The third figure on the fountain is a male figure who is reaching above his head to grab his bow as large pike fish sprays water over him.  The third figure represents the Delaware River.  There are also smaller sculpted frogs and turtles that spout water towards the center.  During the warm months of the year, people often swim in the fountain which is a Philadelphia tradition.