Liberty Bell

An icon of American independence, the Liberty Bell is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park. Commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, the bell 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 cracked when it was rung after its arrival in Pennsylvania and was recast twice. The City of Philadelphia owned the bell which attracts huge crowds but after World War II, the city allowed the National Park Service to take custody of the bell while still retaining ownership. The bell was moved from its home in Independence Hall to a nearby glass pavilion on Independence Mall in 1976, and afterwards to the larger Liberty Bell Center adjacent to the pavilion in 2003.