The Liberty Bell is the cracked bronze bell that once hung in the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, today's Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. It was ordered in 1751 for the building's new steeple, cracked almost as soon as it arrived, and was recast twice in the city. It got its famous name not from the Revolution but from the anti-slavery campaigners of the 1830s, and it has not been rung since 1846.
The Liberty Bell at a glance
- Where: the Liberty Bell Center on Market Street, between 5th and 6th Streets, across from Independence Hall in Independence National Historical Park.
- Cast: first in London in 1752; recast in Philadelphia in 1753.
- By: ordered from Thomas Lester's foundry in London, later the Whitechapel Bell Foundry; recast by the local metalworkers John Pass and John Stow.
- What it is today: a national symbol on public display, owned by the City of Philadelphia and cared for by the National Park Service.
- Time needed: about 30 minutes, including the exhibits on the way to the bell, plus time for the security check.
From State House bell to symbol of freedom
In 1751 the speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, Isaac Norris, asked for a bell of about two thousand pounds for the State House tower, with a verse from Leviticus around it: Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. The bell arrived in 1752 and cracked when it was first tested. Pass and Stow broke it up and recast it in 1753, then recast it again because people disliked the sound. For decades it called lawmakers to sessions and townspeople to public announcements.
In the 1830s abolitionists put the bell on the cover of their publications and named it the Liberty Bell, reading its verse as a call to end slavery. The crack that made it famous developed in the first half of the 19th century; in February 1846, during the celebrations of Washington's birthday, it was rung after a repair and a new crack spread, ending its working life. Later the bell travelled by train to exhibitions around the country. In 1976 it left Independence Hall for a glass pavilion, and in 2003 it moved into the present Liberty Bell Center.
What to look for
- The inscription: the Leviticus verse runs around the top, and below it the words for the State House in the city of Philadelphia, with Pennsylvania spelled Pensylvania, a common spelling at the time.
- The founders' names: Pass and Stow, with the city name and the year 1753, cast into the side of the bell.
- The crack: the wide dark gap is actually the edge of an 1846 repair, when the crack was drilled out; the fatal hairline crack runs on from it towards the top.
- The yoke: the bell still hangs from what is believed to be its original American elm yoke.
- Independence Hall through the glass: the bell is placed so that you see the tower where it once hung right behind it.
Did it really ring in 1776?
A popular story says the bell rang out on 4 July 1776, with an old bellman waiting for a signal that independence had been declared. The tale comes from a story by the writer George Lippard published in 1847. The Declaration was first read in public on 8 July 1776 and bells rang in the city, but there is no evidence that this bell rang on either 4 or 8 July. Another popular story links the crack to the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835, which is not documented either.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning or late in the day to avoid the longest lines, especially in summer and around the Fourth of July.
- Bring as little as possible: everyone goes through a security check, and large bags slow you down.
- Read the exhibits on the way in; they explain how abolitionists, suffragists and civil rights campaigners used the bell.
- Independence Hall is seen on guided tours that often need a timed ticket, so plan both visits together.
Nearby
- Independence Hall: where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and signed, directly across Chestnut Street.
- President's House site: next to the Liberty Bell Center, an open-air exhibit on the house where Washington and Adams lived and on the people Washington enslaved there.
- National Constitution Center: a museum on the US Constitution at the north end of Independence Mall.
- Carpenters' Hall: where the First Continental Congress met in 1774, a few minutes' walk east.
See Philadelphia with World City Trail
Our Philadelphia scavenger hunt turns the historic centre into a game you play on your phone. The route takes around three hours, with about 63 minutes of walking. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese.
If you prefer a different format, Philadelphia also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Philadelphia scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Philadelphia →
Play the outdoor escape game in Philadelphia →
Facts checked in October 2026.