The Liberty Bell Pavilion (demolished) was a building within Independence National Historical Park (INHP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that housed the Liberty Bell from January 1, 1976 to October 9, 2003. Designed by the architectural firm Giurgola Associates to be the Bell's permanent home, it stood for only 30 years. The Bell is currently housed in a much larger building, the Liberty Bell Center, completed in 2003. The Pavilion was demolished in 2006.
The Liberty Bell, cast in 1752 and bearing the words "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof", was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly to be the bell for the Pennsylvania Statehouse, now called Independence Hall. Later, this was the building in which the Declaration of Independence (1776) and United States Constitution (1787) were debated and signed.
The Bell originally hung in the lowest chamber of the building's wooden spire, but it was lowered into the brick tower when the rotting spire was deemed unsafe and removed. In 1852, the cracked Bell was taken down and exhibited on the Hall's ground floor. [1]
In 1969, Independence National Historical Park expressed concern that crowds of visitors to the upcoming 1976 United States Bicentennial could overwhelm (and possibly cause structural damage to) Independence Hall. INHP's proposed solution was to separate the Bell from the Hall, creating two visitor attractions. INHP's plan, announced in 1972, involved moving the Bell to a visitor center to be built at 3rd & Chestnut Streets (2-1/2 blocks east of Independence Hall). The Bell was to be installed on the visitor center's second story – separated, literally and visually, from the building for which it had been created and in which it had been housed for 220 years. Following severe criticism from the public and members of Congress, this plan was abandoned. [2]
INHP's next plan was to build a Bell pavilion at the north end of Independence Mall, on the block bounded by Race, Arch, 5th and 6th Streets (now the site of the National Constitution Center). This would have placed the Bell about a quarter-mile from Independence Hall. INHP's second plan was also soundly rejected.
Philadelphia's mayor, Frank Rizzo, pressed for the pavilion to be built on the block directly north of Independence Hall, bounded by Market, Chestnut, 5th and 6th Streets. [3] The designer chosen was Romaldo Giurgola, a Philadelphia architect known for his Modernist buildings. Giurgola began design work in early 1974; ground was broken in early-1975 and construction was completed by the end of the year.
The move of the Bell some 600 feet north to its new home became part of Philadelphia's 1975 New Year's Eve celebration. The Pavilion opened to visitors at 12:01 am on January 1, 1976. [4]
The steel-and-glass, hourglass-shaped building gathered visitors in a vestibule, and funnelled them down a hallway to the Bell Chamber. There, visitors encountered the Bell before a wall of glass, with Independence Hall as its backdrop. An INHP ranger or guide made a 5- to 10-minute presentation about its history. [5] A longitudinal line of skylights illuminated the interior, relieving the visual weight of the ceiling and reinforcing the central axis of Independence Mall. Glass walls on the north and south facades and canted ones on the sides made the Bell visible from multiple angles, especially at night when it was lit by spotlights. Even when the Pavilion was closed, the Bell was visually accessible to everyone. [6]
The building drew near-unanimous praise from architects, but some members of the public found the architecture cold and insufficiently-dignified, complaining that it looked like "a drive-in bank or subway station." [7] The modest-sized Pavilion, with a capacity of about 100 people, also did not function well with large crowds. Even with the ranger presentations eliminated, lines of visitors were long on peak-visitation days and the wait could be hours. [8]
When INHP began a redesign of Independence Hall in the 1990s, a much bigger Liberty Bell building was part of the plan. [9] The Liberty Bell Center, built to the west of the Pavilion, opened on October 9, 2003. Initially, the vacant Pavilion was repurposed as a security building in which visitors headed to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center were screened. [10] Attempts were made by INHP to sell the Pavilion for the $800,000 cost of its disassembly and removal, [11] but no buyer was found. Instead, some of the building materials were salvaged, and the rest of the Pavilion was demolished in 2006. [12]
The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official world's fair to be held in the United States and coincided with the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence's adoption in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.
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.
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States. The structure, which is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.
The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution that is devoted to the study of the Constitution of the United States. Located at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the center is an interactive museum which serves as a national town hall, hosting government leaders, journalists, scholars, and celebrities who engage in public discussions, including Constitution-related events and presidential debates.
Romaldo 'Aldo' Giurgola was an Italian-Australian academic, architect, professor, and author. Giurgola was born in Rome, Italy in 1920. After service in the Italian armed forces during World War II, he was educated at the Sapienza University of Rome. He studied architecture at the University of Rome, completing the equivalent of a B.Arch. with honors in 1949. That same year, he moved to the United States and received a master's degree in architecture from Columbia University. In 1954, Giurgola accepted a position as an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Shortly thereafter, Giurgola formed Mitchell/Giurgola Architects in Philadelphia with Ehrman B. Mitchell in 1958. In 1966, Giurgola became chair of the Columbia University School of Architecture and Planning in New York City, where he opened a second office of the firm. In 1980 under Giurgola's direction, the firm won an international competition to design a new Australian parliament building. Giurgola moved to Canberra, Australia to oversee the project. In 1989, after its completion and official opening in 1988, the Parliament House was recognised with the top award for public architecture in Australia.
The Syng inkstand is a silver inkstand used during the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the United States Constitution in 1787. Besides paper documents, it is one of four still-existing objects that were present during the Constitutional Convention, along with the Liberty Bell, the chair that George Washington sat in as the convention's presiding officer, and Independence Hall itself.
Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the 55-acre (22 ha) park comprises many of Philadelphia's most-visited historic sites within the Old City and Society Hill neighborhoods. The park has been nicknamed "America's most historic square mile" because of its abundance of historic landmarks.
Philadelphia Mills is an enclosed shopping mall in Northeast Philadelphia, bordering Bensalem in Bucks County and 15 miles (24 km) from Center City. Formerly named for Benjamin Franklin, the mall is home to 125 stores, a movie theatre, a food court, and seven theme restaurants and was visited by an estimated 18 million people in 2006. The anchor stores are Dave & Buster's, Forever 21, Urban Planet, Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshalls, HomeGoods, American Freight, Walmart, AMC Theatres, Burlington, and Turn 7 Liquidators. Two currently vacant anchor stores once housed Phar-Mor and Modell's Sporting Goods.
5th Street/Independence Hall station is a subway station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the intersection of 5th and Market Streets, served by SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line. The station serves multiple notable Philadelphia landmarks including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the National Constitution Center, the National Museum of American Jewish History, and the Philadelphia Bourse.
The architecture of Philadelphia is a mix of historic and modern styles that reflect the city's history. The first European settlements appeared within the present day borders of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 17th century with most structures being built from logs. By the 18th century, brick structures had become common. Georgian and later Federal style buildings dominated much of the cityscape. In the first half of the 19th century, Greek revival appeared and flourished with architects such as William Strickland, John Haviland, and Thomas U. Walter. In the second half of the 19th century, Victorian architecture became popular with the city's most notable Victorian architect being Frank Furness.
Liberty Place is a skyscraper complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The complex is composed of a 61-story, 945-foot (288 m) skyscraper called One Liberty Place, a 58-story, 848-foot (258 m) skyscraper called Two Liberty Place, a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, and the 14-story Westin Philadelphia Hotel.
Market Street, originally known as High Street, is a major east–west highway and street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The street is signed as Pennsylvania Route 3 between 38th Street and 15th Street. A short portion of the road continues west from Cobbs Creek Parkway to Delaware County, adjacent to Philadelphia. The street also serves as the dividing line for the "north" and "south" sides of the city. All north-south addresses in the city start at zero at Market Street.
Jacques-Henri-Auguste Gréber was a French architect specializing in landscape architecture and urban design. He was a strong proponent of the Beaux-Arts style and a contributor to the City Beautiful movement, particularly in Philadelphia and Ottawa.
Edmund Woolley (c.1695—1771) was an English-born American architect and master carpenter, best known for building Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
The President's House in Philadelphia was the third U.S. Presidential Mansion. George Washington occupied it from November 27, 1790, to March 10, 1797, and John Adams occupied it from March 21, 1797, to May 30, 1800.
The Provident Life & Trust Company is a demolished Victorian-era building in Philadelphia designed by architect Frank Furness and considered to be one of the famed architect's greatest works. A bank and insurance company founded in 1865 by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), the Provident's L-shaped building had entrances at 407–09 Chestnut Street, which served as the entrance to the bank, and at 42 South 4th Street, which was the entrance to the insurance company. The two wings were eventually consolidated into an office building, also designed by Furness, at the northwest corner of 4th and Chestnut Streets.
Stuart Franklin Feldman was an American lobbyist and social activist who worked in the administrations of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. He co-founded in 1978 what became Vietnam Veterans of America together with Bobby Muller. Feldman was a longtime advocate for greater awareness of the needs of veterans and seeing to it that they were provided with better education, health care and job opportunities.
Samuel Harding was an American cabinetmaker, remembered for his Queen Anne style furniture and for the interior architectural ornament of Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Justice Bell is a replica of the Liberty Bell made in 1915. It was created to promote the cause for women's suffrage in the United States from 1915 to 1920. The bell is on permanent display at the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Park in Pennsylvania.
Independence Hall replicas are buildings, models and miniatures replicating or inspired by the design of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
