I am a complete and total girly-girl, especially when it comes to anything having to do with love, hearts or romance. So when I headed to Philadelphia in September 2016, John F. Kennedy Plaza, aka LOVE Park, was at the top of my To-Stalk List – or rather the iconic LOVE statute that serves as its focal point was. Unbeknownst to me, the space was actually undergoing a two-year renovation at the time of our visit and closed to the public. I did get to see the sculpture, though, at a temporary display site in Dilworth Park in front of City Hall, a literal stone’s throw away from its usual home. The two spots are in such close proximity, in fact (they sit kitty-corner from each other across 15th Street), that it was not until perusing my photographs in preparation for this post that I realized I never actually set foot in LOVE Park during my trip! Regardless, after learning of the site’s fascinating history (and its connection to a certain Hollywood star), as well as of its recent cameo in the 2019 superhero film Shazam! (available on DVD and streaming now), I figured a blog about it was in order.
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LOVE Park was originally conceived of in 1932 by Cornell University architecture student Edmund Bacon, then 22, while working on his thesis, though it would not come to fruition for several decades. After graduating, Bacon spent time traveling around the world and eventually secured an architecture job in Shanghai. He then served in World War II before finally returning to his hometown of Philadelphia where he founded and then became the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, a position he held from 1949 through 1970. During his tenure, Bacon spearheaded many projects to beautify the area, including finally enacting his college thesis idea of developing a municipal park to cover an underground parking garage that neighbored City Hall.
Bacon brought in his former Cornell University classmate Vincent George Kling to design the park, which opened to the public in 1965. Two years later, it was dedicated as “John F. Kennedy Plaza,” though it is more commonly referred to as “LOVE Park” thanks to the large Robert Indiana-designed LOVE sculpture that sits at its center. Measuring 6 feet by 6 feet by 3 feet, the shiny red, purple and green installation was first displayed on the premises, on temporary loan from the artist, in 1976 as part of the United States bicentennial celebration. Its return to Indiana in 1978 was met with much woe, so Philadelphia Art Commission president (and owner of the 76ers) Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. rectified the situation, personally purchasing the piece to exhibit permanently in the Plaza.
In February 2016, John F. Kennedy Plaza was shuttered for the aforementioned renovation project which cost $26 million and took 2 years to complete. During the interim, the LOVE statue was moved to Dilworth Park, just south of the Philadelphia Municipal Services Building, as pictured below.
It was finally reinstated in February 2018 and the park re-opened to the public in May of that same year. The new design, which features two gardens, a great lawn, a fountain, and regular events including weekday food truck offerings, has been widely lamented by area denizens. An apparent shadow of its former self, The Philadelphia Citizen described the bleak space as “an enormous sidewalk,” while The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed it a “granite Sahara,” and the Street Dept. blog went so far as to plead with locals to close their accounts with Bank of America, as the company funded a portion of the revamp. You can check out some images of LOVE Park pre- and post-overhaul here and here, respectively.
Aside from the LOVE statue, John F. Kennedy Plaza is perhaps best known for being a huge skateboarding mecca during the ‘80s and ‘90s, which brought the park worldwide attention, but also drew ire from some locals resulting in a long battle that caused the city to ban skating there in 1994. Many welcomed the activity, though, so the law was not strictly enforced and teens continued to shred it up on the premises until 2002 when the site underwent a renovation under the order of Mayor John F. Street which essentially made skating at the park obsolete. That project was met with much disdain, too, from countless Philadelphians including Edmund Bacon himself who, on October 28th of that year, hosted a protest of sorts by riding a skateboard through the Plaza – at the age of 92! As he stated to media outlets that day, “And now I, Edmund N. Bacon, in total defiance of Mayor Street and the council of the city of Philadelphia, hereby exercise my rights as a citizen of the United States and I deliberately skate in my beloved LOVE Park.” After his brief glide, he joyously proclaimed, “Oh God, thank you, thank you, thank you! My whole damn life has been worth it just for this moment!” You can check out a great video of the event here. Though Bacon is often referred to as “The Father of Modern Philadelphia” thanks to the huge mark he left on the City of Brotherly Love, I was thrilled to discover that his actual lineage is pretty darn noteworthy, too. Edmund, you see, is dad to none other than actor Kevin Bacon! And the LOVE Park’s Hollywood connection doesn’t end there.
In Shazam!, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) and Shazam (Zachary Levi) face off in a battle in the sky above LOVE Park.
During the fight, Sivana attempts to shoot Shazam with a laser, but misses and accidentally hits the William Penn statue atop City Hall instead, causing it to crash down to John F. Kennedy Plaza below.
LOVE Park also popped up in the 2009 comedy Baby Mama as the spot where Rob (Greg Kinnear) pretends to propose to Kate (Tina Fey) during a musical montage.
It is shown very briefly in an establishing shot of Philadelphia towards the end of the film, as well.
Noble Fox’s 2015 “What You Want” music video, which you can watch here, was also lensed at LOVE Park.
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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: John F. Kennedy Plaza, aka LOVE Park from Shazam!, is located at Arch and 16th Streets in Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood.
