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The Experience
The Liberty Bell has a new home, and it is as powerful and dramatic as the Bell itself. Throughout the expansive, light-filled Center, larger-than-life historic documents and graphic images explore the facts and the myths surrounding the Bell.
X-rays give an insider´s view, literally, of the Bell´s crack and inner-workings. In quiet alcoves, a short History Channel film, available in English and eight other languages, traces how abolitionists, suffragists and other groups adopted the Bell as its symbol of freedom.
Other exhibits show how the Bell´s image was used on everything from ice cream molds to wind chimes. Keep your camera handy. Soaring glass walls offer dramatic and powerful views of both the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, just a few steps away.
History
The bell now called the Liberty Bell was cast in the Whitechapel Foundry in the East End of London and sent to the building currently known as Independence Hall, then the Pennsylvania State House, in 1753.
It was an impressive looking object, 12 feet in circumference around the lip with a 44-pound clapper. Inscribed at the top was part of a Biblical verse from Leviticus, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.”
Unfortunately, the clapper cracked the bell on its first use. A couple of local artisans, John Pass and John Stow, recast the bell twice, once adding more copper to make it less brittle and then adding silver to sweeten its tone. No one was quite satisfied, but it was put in the tower of the State House anyway.
Fast Facts
The Liberty Bell is composed of approximately 70 percent copper, 25 percent tin and traces of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold and silver.
The Bell is suspended from what is believed to be its original yoke, made of American elm.
The Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds. The yoke weighs about 100 pounds.
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Information from NPS Website:
The Liberty Bell Center is located at 526 Market Street. Visitors exit from the south end of the building, near Chestnut Street.Hours and Fees
Open daily: 9am – 5pm
The security screening area closes at least 10 minutes prior to the building closure time.Admission is FREE.Ticketing
NO tickets are required. Entrance is on a first-come, first-served basis. Visitors must pass through security screening first.
Exhibits
Exhibits line the left side of the hallway in the Liberty Bell Center. Topics range from the founding of the State House bell (now known as the Liberty Bell) to its use by abolitionists and civil rights advocates. Don’t miss the temporary exhibit The Stone Declaration about the version of the Declaration of Independence we are most familiar with today.
For International Visitors
Written information about the Liberty Bell is available in a dozen languages. Please ask a park ranger for these services.
Accessibility
The Liberty Bell Center is wheelchair accessible. There are NO restrooms (accessible or otherwise) in the Liberty Bell Center, but restrooms are available in the nearby Independence Visitor Center. Learn more about the accessibility services offered throughout the park on our website.
Security
Visitors must pass through a security screening area to visit the Liberty Bell Center. To maximize your visit to the park, and to minimize your security screening time, the park recommends that you bring only small bags, if necessary. No weapons, pepper spray, or pocket knives are permitted into the building.
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