For nearly half a century, “Rosalie Winkler I Love You” – a charming graffito atop the famed 90-Foot Bridge at Krewstown Road – greeted travelers as they headed out of Northeast Philly’s Pennypack Park.

Inside the park, the 90-Foot Bridge really does soar 90 feet above Pennypack Creek, but at the Krewstown Road underpass it is only about 15-20 feet high and nearly every square inch was once covered with several layers of spray paint – which makes it all the more amazing that the “Rosalie Winkler” message survived as long as it did. Graffiti artists somehow all knew they were supposed to paint around it. And the one time a person actually painted over the message, someone else came along and restored it to its original form – lettering style, size, color and all.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. All the old graffiti is now hidden underneath a thick coat of white paint. All, that is, except the “Rosalie Winkler I Love You” message, which survives to this very day!

So who is (or was) this mysterious Rosalie Winkler? And who is (or was) the long-forgotten artist who loved Rosalie so much that he (or she) would risk life, limb and the law to paint Rosalie’s name atop a railroad overpass?

One legend has it that Rosalie was a vivacious beauty who died in the prime of her youth, and that the message was a lasting tribute from those who knew and loved her. According to another legend, however, Rosalie is alive and well and teaching music in Salem, Oregon, and in the early 1980s wrote music for several Hollywood films including The Blue Lagoon.

We know it’s just a matter of time before someone will contact us and set the record straight. The truth be known, however, we’d really rather keep imagining Rosalie as Pennypack’s misty muse than learn she is now a 63-year-old grandmother living in Pennsauken.

LIBERTY BELLE: “This is so romantic; I almost don’t want the mystery solved! Any guy who would climb a bridge and tell the entire world he loves me would win my heart instantly.”

OZZARD OF WHIZ: “Way to aim high, Lib. Most women go for athletes, musicians, doctors and investment bankers. You go for a vandal who hangs out by the train tracks and defaces property. I’m sure someday you will meet the low-life of your dreams.”

SON OF SWOOP: “Are you available this Saturday night?”

 

 

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