Liberty Bell Center

The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American independence. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm of Lester and Pack, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof", a Biblical reference from the Book of Leviticus. The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations. After American independence was secured, the bell fell into relative obscurity until, in the 1830s, when the bell was adopted as a symbol by abolitionist societies, who dubbed it the "Liberty Bell. Once placed in the steeple of Independence Hall, the bell today is now located here in the Liberty Bell Center.