The Portal at Love Park is covered after it was vandalized again. NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle reports as officials talk about moving the installation.
Don't expect to connect with the rest of the world through a large video portal anytime soon.
That's because the Portal in Philadelphia's LOVE Park remained wrapped up and nonoperational as the group that runs the livestreaming device mulls over its future.
“Right now, we are working on plans for the future of the Philadelphia portal, as it is currently offline and will remain that way until we can find a new location for it," Portals director Joseph Callahan told NBC10 in a statement on March 25, 2025.
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The Philly Portal launched in October 2024 amid fanfare after being moved here from New York City. To start, it connected with other livestreaming devices in Dublin, Ireland; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland.
However, the device hit speed bumps soon after as its screen was cracked at some point and it had to be moved within LOVE Park to make room for the annual Christmas Village market.
Then, it went offline at some point in February 2025 so that crews could perform "routine maintenance and upgrades," Callahan said. The plan was for it to reopen in early March.
However, the device remained offline as Philadelphia police revealed in early March that vandals had stolen copper wiring from the Portal back on Feb. 1.
On Tuesday, March 25, the Portal was wrapped up and offline, with its future uncertain.
"Discussions are ongoing for when and where the Portal will be back online, and we will share more information on it when we can," Callahan said.
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