The L.A. service was broadcast on the Jumbotron at the Piazza at Schmidts. Evan Osenfeldt, 27, of Northern Liberties, stopped while walking his dog. He described himself as a fan. "Who wasn't?" Osenfeldt said, recalling how as a child he used to dance around in a beaded jacket and silver glove.
At nearby Darling's Diner, hostess Bethany Willis watched what she called "a part of history" on two of the restaurant's three televisions.
By staff request, the service was shown on a rollaway TV in the lobby of the Free Library of Philadelphia. The assembly varied from five to more than 20 as people stopped in on lunch breaks or to cool off.
Angela Willie of the library's business department dabbed away tears as she watched Stevie Wonder perform "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." She said that she'd grown up watching Jackson and that the song was appropriate because "no one really knew who he was."
"To me it just shows what a pivotal figure was in American history," said Sara Strickland, who works in the library's communication department.
That place in history was much on the minds of people at local malls. At the Best Buy in Plymouth Meeting, Tanya Baird, 39, of Philadelphia, said:
"He had an impact on so many different genres across the board. I didn't realize how much of an impact until his passing and the reflections of so many artists who have sampled his music."
At the Plymouth Meeting Mall, Gabrielle Aiello, 16, recalled the days she and her older brothers imitated Jackson dance moves in the basement of their Plymouth Meeting home. They even purchased a red jacket like the one Jackson wore in his "Beat It" video.
"I think a lot of people followed what he did, since he was the King of Pop," Aiello said. "You can see it in how many people showed up to the funeral and how many actors and singers are upset by his death."
