Philadelphia - Liberty Bell Pavilion

The old State House bell was first called the "Liberty Bell" by a group trying to outlaw slavery. These abolitionists remembered the words on the bell and, in the 1830s, adopted it as a symbol of their cause. Beginning in the late 1800s, the Liberty Bell traveled around the country to expositions and fairs to help heal the divisions of the Civil War. It reminded Americans of their earlier days when they fought and worked together for independence. In 1915, the bell made its last trip and came home to Philadelphia, where it now silently reminds us of the power of liberty.

To the west of the Visitor Center, opposite Independence Hall, is the famous Liberty Bell, cast in England, which was rung for the first time in 1776, on the occasion of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The bell, previously in Independence Hall, was installed in the present pavilion in 1976.