Leaning Tower of Pisa Pole — Philadelphia
Artist unknown · S 5th Street at Gaskill Street, Society Hill · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Photo by Kate McGovern, via Street Art Utopia’s archive (shared from Facebook, published 7 August 2012); capture date unrecorded. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
A leaning parking post on a Philadelphia sidewalk, painted with the arcades of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It stands at the corner of South 5th and Gaskill Streets, just off South Street, and nobody has ever claimed it. Laughing Squid · Streets Dept, 2025 · Playing in the World Game Checked
5 things to know
- The lean was already thereLaughing Squid describes a parking pole or bollard that was leaning at an angle and painted to look like Italy’s famous tower. Laughing Squid · Streets Dept, 2025 Checked
- Nobody has claimed itStreets Dept found that no artist came forward to claim credit. A reader recalled that it was painted by one of the two women who ran a coffee shop on the corner, before Cookie Confidential; South Philly Review names that shop as Blackbird. These are memories, not records. Streets Dept, 2025 · South Philly Review Unconfirmed
- Probably mid-1990sReaders remember it being painted around 1994–95, and one saw it in 1997 or early 1998. No dated photo from those years has been found. Streets Dept, 2025 · Streets Dept, 2013 Unconfirmed
- Neighbours keep it upAccording to Streets Dept and South Philly Review, locals have touched up the paint over the years. Streets Dept, 2025 · South Philly Review Reported
- A photo that keeps coming backStreets Dept posted it in 2013 and again in 2021; Laughing Squid wrote it up in 2023, and South Philly Review retold the mystery in January 2025. Streets Dept, 2013 · Streets Dept, 2025 · Laughing Squid · South Philly Review Checked
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Corner of S 5th Street and Gaskill Street in Society Hill, just north of South Street, next to the Aurora Grace chocolate shop in 2023. Laughing Squid · Streets Dept, 2013 Checked
Sightings
- 20126 May
Blog locates it · Old Wolf
- 201325 Jan
Photo · Streets Dept
- 202317 Oct
Photos · Laughing Squid
- 20252 Jan
History retold · Streets Dept
- 202514 Jan
South Philly Review story
Green stamps are photographs, dated by their publication (no camera dates are given). Amber stamps are dated mentions without a new photograph. The status stamp follows the newest photographs, published by Laughing Squid on 17 October 2023.
On the record
Where to find it
“It’s located in Society Hill at the corner of S 5th Street and Gaskill Street next to the chocolate shop Aurora Grace.”
From the write-up by Laughing Squid after a visit to Philadelphia.
The coffee-shop theory
“The original artist was one of the two girls who ran the coffee shop before Cookie Confidential.”
A reader’s memory, quoted by Streets Dept; it has not been confirmed.
Found it
“Our leaning tower of Pisa is on the corner of South 5th Street and Gaskill Street in Philadelphia.”
From the blogger’s post, which credits Teresa Burritt’s Frog Blog for the photo.
The facts
- Work
- A leaning street post painted as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Laughing Squid · Streets Dept, 2013 · Playing in the World Game Checked
- Location
- S 5th Street at Gaskill Street, Society Hill, Philadelphia, just off South Street. Laughing Squid · Streets Dept, 2025 · Playing in the World Game Checked
- Artist
- Unknown. A reader’s memory points to one of two women who ran a coffee shop on the corner (Blackbird, according to South Philly Review). Streets Dept, 2025 · South Philly Review Unconfirmed
- Date
- Mid-1990s, from readers’ memories (1994–95; seen by 1997–98). Streets Dept, 2025 · Streets Dept, 2013 Unconfirmed It was certainly there by May 2012. Playing in the World Game · Streets Dept, 2013 Checked
- Upkeep
- Touched up by neighbours over the years. Streets Dept, 2025 · South Philly Review Reported
- Status
- Seen in photographs published 17 October 2023. Laughing Squid Checked The January 2025 articles describe it as still there but carry no new dated photo. Streets Dept, 2025 · South Philly Review Reported
- Photographs
- Photo by Kate McGovern, shared from Facebook and published in Street Art Utopia’s archive on 7 August 2012; capture date unrecorded. Street Art Utopia Reported
Related
- Leaning Tower of Pisa in Philadelphia, PA, USA: SAU’s 2012 post with this photo.
- Street Art That Uses Its Surroundings (20 Photos): the SAU collection that includes it.
- R2-D2 Bunker Vent, Prague: another everyday street object painted into something else, with its own Artwork File.
All sources (5)
Philadelphia press and blogs
- Streets Dept: Philly’s Own Leaning Tower of Pisa, 25 January 2013. Photo and place, just north of South Street; a commenter recalls seeing it in 1997 or early 1998.
- Streets Dept: Philly Art Histories: South Street’s Leaning Tower of Mystery, by Conrad Benner, first published June 2021, republished 2 January 2025. Corner of 5th and Gaskill, no artist came forward, readers’ memories of the 1990s and of neighbours touching it up.
- South Philly Review: the Tower of Mystery Pisa pole mural, by Melody Russell, 14 January 2025. Retells the Streets Dept findings and names the coffee shop as Blackbird.
Other dated reports
- Laughing Squid: The Leaning Pole of Philadelphia, 17 October 2023. Photos from a visit; location next to Aurora Grace.
- Playing in the World Game: Hidden Street Art, by The Old Wolf, 6 May 2012. Identifies the corner of South 5th and Gaskill Streets.
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