 The Liberty Bell outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia in April 2017 | |
 Interactive map pinpointing the bell's location | |
| 39°56′58″N 75°9′1″W / 39.94944°N 75.15028°W | |
| Location | Liberty Bell Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Designer | Whitechapel Bell Foundry |
| Type | Tower bell |
| Material | 70% Copper, 20% Tin, 10% other metals |
| Width | 3.82 ft (1.16 m) (circumference is 12 ft (3.7 m) around the lip, 7.5 ft (2.3 m) around the crown) |
| Height | About 4 ft (1.2 m) |
| Completion date | 1752 |
| Website | Liberty Bell Center |
| Weight | 2,080 pounds (940 kg) |
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell today is located across the street from Independence Hall in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park.
The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London-based firm Lester and Pack, later renamed the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof", a Biblical reference from the Book of Leviticus (25:10). The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose surnames appear on the bell. In its early years, the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens to public meetings and proclamations.
Although no immediate announcement was made of the Second Continental Congress's Lee Resolution, the vote for independence on July 2, 1776, or its unanimous adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4, 1776, it is most likely that the Liberty Bell (along with other bells in Philadelphia) rang on July 8, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was first read to the public. While no contemporary account of the Liberty Bell's ringing exists, most historians believe the Liberty Bell was among the bells rung that day.
The bell did not acquire its distinctive large crack until after almost a century of heavy use, though there is no historical consensus on the exact date it was cracked. According to the National Park Service, "the most likely explanation is that a narrow split developed in the early 1840s after nearly 90 years of hard use. In 1846, when the city decided to repair the bell prior to George Washington's birthday holiday (February 23), metal workers widened the thin crack to prevent its farther spread and restore the tone of the bell using a technique called 'stop drilling'."[1]
After World War II, Philadelphia allowed the National Park Service to take custody of the bell, while retaining ownership. The bell was used as a symbol of freedom during the Cold War and was a popular site for protests in the 1960s. It was moved from its longtime home in Independence Hall to a nearby glass pavilion on Independence Mall in 1976, and then to the larger Liberty Bell Center adjacent to the pavilion in 2003. The bell has been featured on coins and stamps, and its name and image have been widely used by corporations.