LOVE Park, LOVE Park Visitor Center & The Portal

Why Visit

LOVE Park serves as the grand entrance to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, carrying residents and visitors between City Hall and top attractions like the Barnes Foundation, The Franklin Institute and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Designed to let visitors and vendors use the space as needed, LOVE Park creates an environment that brings together world travelers, lunchtime snackers, sunbathers, fitness buffs and performers.

Major renovations completed in 2018 put the LOVE sculpture at the center of the park, creating plenty of photo-ready opportunities. A new fountain with programmable jets and lights is also selfie-worthy.

LOVE Park offers flexible public space, as well as regular programming like weekday lunch trucks and Wedding Wednesdays.   — Photo courtesy Philadelphia Parks and Recreation

Those visiting the park on a Wednesday just might see a wedding beneath the iconic sculpture. Ceremonies for couples who register in advance take place every week, March through October.

Additional events at LOVE Park have included free fitness classes, cultural celebrations and music festivals. It also hosts Philadelphia’s annual Christmas Village, where dozens of vendors sell gifts, handmade crafts and snacks in an open-air market each November and December.

The Portal

Most recently seen in New York City, the hit art installation The Portal arrived in Philly’s LOVE Park in October 2024.

Created by Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys, The Portal links the City of Brotherly Love to faraway countries around the world via a massive 24/7 video livestream.

Find The Portal near the LOVE Park Visitor Center, right on the corner of 16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

LOVE Park Visitor Center

Visitor services are available at LOVE Park in the form of the LOVE Park Visitor Center.

  — Photo by D. King

At the stand-alone information services kiosk, visitors can purchase tickets to local attractions, shop for souvenirs in the gift store, and get in-person visitation and tour info through multi-lingual staffing.

The LOVE Park Visitor Center is run by the Independence Visitor Center Corporation and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.

The History

John F. Kennedy Plaza was designed by famed city planner Edmond Bacon (father of actor Kevin Bacon) and originally constructed over an underground parking garage in 1965.

  — Photo by Visit Philadelphia

The plaza gets its nickname from Robert Indiana’s LOVE statue, which was first placed there for the United States Bicentennial in 1976, only to be removed two years later.

Due to its immense popularity, the sculpture was purchased by the Chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission, F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., and permanently returned to the plaza.