Liberty Bell - A Crack Heard Round the World

Photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Philadelphia Independence Walk, a free self-guided tour.

The Liberty Bell was ordered for the Pennsylvania State House and arrived from London in 1752. It cracked the first time it was rung. Two local metalworkers, John Pass and John Stow, recast it twice in Philadelphia.

Read the line around the top: it's a Bible verse from Leviticus about proclaiming liberty throughout the land. For decades almost nobody called this the Liberty Bell. Abolitionists gave it that name in the 1830s, adopting it as a symbol in the fight against slavery. Later, women seeking the right to vote made their own replica bell for their cause.

The famous crack you see grew wider in 1846 and the bell has not been rung since, though it is gently tapped on special occasions.

Entry to the Liberty Bell Center is usually free, with security screening. Even from outside, you can often see the bell through the glass at the south end, with Independence Hall behind it.

Getting here: Walk south through the Liberty Bell Center, or along 6th Street beside it, to the bell chamber at the end nearest Chestnut Street.

Did you know?: In 1777, with British troops approaching, the bell was hidden under the floor of a church in Allentown so it couldn't be melted down for cannons.

Photo op: From outside on the Chestnut Street end, line up the bell behind the glass with the Independence Hall tower reflected or framed behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Liberty Bell · Independence Hall · Abolitionism in the United States

Liberty Bell - A Crack Heard Round the World

Stops on this tour