Lucky Seven Tavern
Seen in: Rocky, Rocky Balboa
AS SEEN IN ROCKY (1976)
2800 Ormes Street
Philadelphia, PA 19134 [View Map]
There’s been a lot of confusion about the Lucky Seven, but now thanks to Brian Sullivan, we can set the record straight.
Before Brian’s family began running the original Lucky Seven Tavern in 1970, the place was called Thompson’s on the Hill, and at the time of the filming in 1975, his mother Arlene was the owner. While they never got a chance to meet any of the cast during the brief shooting here, Sullivan does recall having “watched from across the street; between the bar and the railroad where Rocky’s famous run started.” During the production, Brian lived just across the street from the bar in the pink houses momentarily visible in the bar’s establishing shot.
The tavern went on to become The King’s Inn, but was ultimately demolished in the 1980′s. As of this writing, all that’s left on the corner of Ormes, Somerset and Tusculum Streets is a small vacant lot where the bar once stood.
While the exterior as seen in the movie is the original Lucky Seven, Brian tells us that the interiors were shot at another bar called McCarty’s, which was then situated kitty-corner from the “new” Lucky Seven Tavern on Kensington Avenue. This is not confirmed as the director’s DVD commentary claims the interior was at a Los Angeles bar.
AS SEEN IN ROCKY BALBOA (2006)
2800 D Street
Philadelphia, PA 19134 [View Map]
The Lucky Seven Tavern seen in Rocky is a different location than the one seen in Rocky Balboa. (And if you’re looking for the place where Rocky fought Tommy Gunn, that’s yet another location, Andy’s Bar, which just looks somewhat similar.)
Incidentally, until recent times there was another place in Philly called the Lucky Seven Tavern, but that ain’t Rocky’s original – it’s just a coincidence.
