LOVE Park | 12:43AM Aug 19, 2007
The LOVE sculpture, by Robert Indiana (his real name is Robert Clark).Installed at John F. Kennedy Plaza (better known as "Love Park"), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA in 1978.
In 1976 Robert Indiana attempted to loan his Love sculpture to the city of Philadelphia for the American Bicentennial celebration. I believe the thinking was that since Philadelphia’s founder, William Penn, referred to his city as, “the city of brotherly love” (he was a Quaker), it was a fitting tribute to his novel concept. The city wanted to buy it, but refused it at $45,000.00. Negotiations dragged on for two years until the artist repossessed it. After the public's outrage, F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., a businessman and Chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission, bought it and donated it to Philadelphia.
By the way, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Philadelphia had the highest murder rate among the nation's 10 largest cities last year, and violent crime and property crime grew at a rate that exceeded the national average, according to FBI statistics” - June 5, 2007.
