PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A proposal
to change the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made famous
in the "Rocky" movie, is not definite, architect Frank Gehry said on
Thursday.
Plans for a major expansion of the museum, unveiled to the
media on Thursday, call for a 24-foot (7.3-meter) window in the
center of the broad stairs seen in Sylvester Stallone's
Oscar-winning 1976 movie. In one of the film's most memorable
scenes, Stallone's underdog boxer, Rocky Balboa, climbs the
stairs as part of his training and exults upon reaching the top.
The window would connect to underground galleries to be designed
by Gehry, known for dramatic, modernist designs, including the
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain.
From inside, visitors would get a view of the Philadelphia
skyline.
"We're talking about a window to the city, Gehry told reporters
on Thursday. It's not a done deal. It's something to talk
about.
Officials at the museum said they anticipate some public
reaction to the proposal to change the 72 steps, which rank
among the most popular tourist attractions in Philadelphia.
Visitors can often be seen re-enacting the "Rocky" scene, their arms
raised in triumph.
The neoclassical museum building was completed in 1928.
Much of the expansion, which could take more than a decade, involves
changes to interior spaces and excavation of portions of the hill
where the museum stands to create underground galleries.
The plans could add as much as 169,000 square feet (15,700 square
meters) of space and allow the museum to show off more of its
collection of 230,000 objects, officials say.
