World Portal Is Back Online



by Alex Lloyd Gross

The World Portal is back online and it’s drawing crowds of people. The original location was in LOVE Park near the LOVE statue. It was then moved near the Visitors Center. That was it’s downfall as a handful of idiots ruined it for millions.

First someone threw rocks at the screen and then another couple of imbeciles cut the power cables to sell the wire as scrap. That caused the magnificent portal to be down for several month, depriving the world of seeing Philadelphia.

Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com People at the PANDA Food Festival enjoys the World Portal.

Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com The damaged portal sits on LOVE Park.

It’s back up . The location has changed to inside city hall courtyard, where increased security will protect it. This device allows cities that have similar portals to have residents and visitors look at and interact with each other.

This weekend, people that looked at the portal from those countries and saw Philadelphia got to see a special treat. The PANDA Food Festival was taking place on city hall property and some of that was right in front of the portal. A small stage was set up and dancers and singers would preform. This time, the audience was global, not local.

Alex Lloyd Gross Photo Delaware Valley News.com. The Panda Food Festival in front of the World Portal.

There is no sound being transmitted so it’s visual only. Most people stop and wave or make hearts with their hands hoping the people watching on the other side would reciprocate. Currently, the World Portal is showing Vilnius, Poland and Italy, to people in Philadelphia. There was a glitch with the Italian display but everything else seemed to be working fine.

The camera rotates every few minutes so people don’t get bored or complacent with the same view. The plan is to keep the World Portal in Philadelphia though 2026.