Item:  LOVE Park Philly Photograph
Seller:  AllisonOstertag

I need to take a trip to Philadelphia!

My Etsy search today took me to this 8 inch x 10 inch print of the famous LOVE sculpture in Philadelphia, PA.  This killer photograph is only $10.00!  The Etsy seller (AllisonOstertag) gives the buyer the option to pick between four images of the famous sculpture.

Here’s another shot of the LOVE sculpture I liked:

I’m so glad the seller (AlisonOstertag) decided to post a little background on LOVE Park because I didn’t know anything about it.  The park has a lot more history behind it than I thought!  There’s always aspects of an area you’re already intimately connected to that you’ve never seen, from an old hidden bingo hall to a small garden in the middle of high-rise apartment blocks. The LOVE Park is a wonderful example of this, and I wanted to bring you this so that you might go out and find similar places of wonder in areas you thought you knew so well.

Turns out the park was the idea of a former Philadelphia City Planner named Edmun Bacon and an architect named Vincent Kling.  LOVE park was built in 1965 and it actually covers an underground parking garage. The main features of the plaza are curved granite steps and a fountain that only has a single spout.

Apparently the park is super attractive to skateboarders because of the smooth curves, so it was huge in the 80′s for skateboarding.  By the 1990s, LOVE Park had an international reputation as a skateboarding favorite.  The park (and thus the LOVE sculpture) began to be associated with skateboarding legends like Bam Margera and the park even hosted the 2001 and 2002 X-Games, which were viewed by 150 million people in over 18 countries.

So what’s with the famous  LOVE sculpture?  It was designed by Robert Indiana and put in the park in 1976 as a way to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States.  Then it was removed in 1978 (wonder who made that decision!) and everyone missed the sculpture… so… it was bought back and permanently placed it in the plaza.

Love the photograph, AllisonOstertag!  Make sure to check out the rest of her photographs at her Etsy shop – the Philly photographs make me want to book a flight immediately!

- Jackie