Stallone: “Really have a strong affection for this neighborhood. It is where it all started.”
This month while on location in Philadelphia filming scenes for Creed II, Sylvester Stallone took some time out to revisit Rocky’s old haunts.
First, he stopped off at Rocky’s apartment and shot a video there, remembering the moments spent at 1818 Tusculum Street with Adrian on their first date.
Then, Sly headed to the intersection of Front Street and Susquehanna – the holy grail of Rocky filming locations. This dilapidated corner houses the buildings that stood in for Mighty Mick’s Gym, Adrian’s pet shop and Andy’s Bar.
“Some things just never get old,” Stallone says as he stands outside the brick fascade of Mickey’s Gym, staring at the blank brick which once displayed Mighty Mick’s faded sign.
Pointing across the street to the vacant spot which until recently stood the abandoned storefront of J&M Tropical Fish, Stallone narrates: “Over there used to be the pet shop, Adrian’s, where I met her, that’s gone now, but I think it will come back cause I bought a lot of turtles and I need a place to put them.”
The pet shop, in terrible disrepair, was demolished in April of 2017, leaving a sad and gaping hole.
Stallone then recreates the dialogue between Rocky Balboa and Mike the trainer (Jimmy Gambina) when Rocky tells him of his fight with Spider Rico upon entering Mick’s gym. A local fan can be heard in the clip shouting out “Yo, Rocky!” to Stallone from across the busy city street.
“It’s always thrilling to come back here because I don’t forget where I came from,” Sly says. “I’m grateful for this place, this neighborhood – just everything in general.”
