Giant Cracked Button.

Giant Cracked Button

One of the earlier big-pop-art projects of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, "Split Button," was unveiled on Philadelphia's University of Pennsylvania campus in 1981. Coosje came up with the button idea.

The sculpture, 13 feet wide, weighs 5,000 pounds and is made of reinforced aluminum painted with polyurethane enamel. It cost $100,000 and was supposed to be maintenance-free, but skateboarders wore through the paint and the button had to be given a makeover in 2017.

Some people believe that the skateboarders also were responsible for the crack in the button, but that's not true; the button was designed that way. Claes said it represented the Schuylkill River that splits the city.

Giant Cracked Button

Address:: 3405 Woodland Walk, Philadelphia, PA
Directions:: In a quad on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, just south of Walnut St. and a roughly a block west of S. 34th St.

Nearby Offbeat Places

Charles Addams Silhouettes and Thing Gate, Philadelphia, PA - < 1 mi.

Tallest Tombstone in America, Philadelphia, PA - < 1 mi.

3-Way Electrical Plug Sculpture, Philadelphia, PA - 1 mi.

In the region:

Lost River Caverns, Hellertown, PA - 44 mi.

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