PHILLY FRIDAY -- THE LIBERTY BELL

I love living in a historic city.  I'm hoping next spring and summer to get to some of the historic sites that I haven't seen in a few years.  Quite a few years.   But in the meantime I thought I would do a short series on some of the great stuff to see and do here in Philly.

The first thing people think of with Philadelphia is the Liberty Bell.  When I was a little girl the Liberty Bell was kept inside of Independence Hall.  (Sorry, but contrary to popular belief I wasn't there when it got its crack!)  Then it was moved to its own glass building across the street in Independence Park.  I used to eat lunch in the park when I worked in that part of the city and look at the bell and people watch the visitors.  If I had time after I ate I would go in and see it up close and personal.  I have always loved history and the thought of how many people over 200 years have seen (and we used to be able to touch) the bell.

 

Now the bell has been moved again and is in another high security building.  It is much harder to get close to it or see it.  This is because of the man who came in with the visitors and tried to destroy it several years ago.  It was interesting watching the bell be moved between the two buildings.  Even though it was only about a block away, it took almost all day because they had to move it so slowly.

Originally the Liberty Bell was just a bell in the state house (now known as Independence Hall) that was used to alert the citizens to proclamations or danger.  The bell was made by the London firm of Lester and Pack.  It cost about $40,000 in today's money.  When the bell arrived it was mounted on a stand and struck to test the sound.  It immediately cracked.  So it was recast by two local bellmakers, John Pass and John Stow from New Jersey.  There was a big feast with lots of free food and drink for the people who came to hear it rung the second time.  And this time the bell did not crack.  The bell was rung on special occasions up until 1846 when it cracked again and this is the crack we see today.

So here's your history lesson for today.   This is not going to be a weekly thing, but every once in awhile I will throw in some interesting tidbit about the great city I live in.  I hope you all can come to visit it someday.  I would love to show you around.
------------------------------
 Today's weather:
Mostly sunny
High:  53 degrees
Low:  33 degrees
Sunrise:  6:37 a.m.
Sunset:  4:50 p.m.
10 hours and 13 minutes of daylight.
And it's getting cold folks!