Amid one of the biggest celebrations that Philly has ever seen last Thursday, one image was clearly missing from the thousands of photos—the iconic LOVE sculpture at LOVE Park. But Philly won’t have to wait much longer for its comeback, because it will officially return to LOVE Park on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day.
The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department and the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy confirmed the sculpture’s return date on Monday, noting that the Robert Indiana sculpture will be paraded down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to its home base at LOVE Park.
In fact, during its “LOVE on the Move” parade, the sculpture will be making seven pit stops in front of other works of art, including the AMOR sculpture at Sister Cities Park on the Parkway. Rest assured there will be plenty of opportunities to snap a selfie with the sculpture once again. Here’s the full route:
- 10:00 a.m. – Joan of Arc, 25th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
- 10:10 a.m. – Washington Monument at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Eakins Oval
- 10:20 a.m. – All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors, 20th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- 10:30 a.m. – Swann Memorial Fountain, Logan Square
- 10:45 a.m. – AMOR, 18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- 11:00 a.m. – Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs, 16th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- 11:15 a.m. – Arrival at JFK Plaza/LOVE Park for installation
The re-installation will mark what’s been a long and winding journey for the statue, which has always been a popular photo-op for Philadelphians and tourists alike. When LOVE Park closed to undergo a multi-million dollar renovation in 2016, the sculpture was moved across the street to Dilworth Park. Then, in February 2017, it was shipped away to an undisclosed location to undergo a year-long restoration.
During the restoration, some surprises were uncovered about the sculpture. For example, they discovered that the sculpture was originally red, green and purple, rather than the red, green and blue. That means when the LOVE statue returns on February 13, it may look a little different than what the public had all come to know and love over the years.
While the artwork will be installed on Tuesday, there is still some more months to go before the grand reopening of LOVE Park. While it served as the site of last year’s Christmas Village, there is still a lot of work to do, including plantings, and the restoration of the Fairmount Welcome Center and the fountain.