Bicentennial Bell

Description

The Bicentennial Bell was created as a gift from the people of Great Britain to the United States in celebration of the nation’s 1976 Bicentennial.

Cast, Mar 4, 1976

The bell measures 6 feet 10 inches in diameter and 5 feet 6 inches high and weighs approximately six tons. Originally proposed by the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company as a bell for the new Independence National Historical Park Visitor Center, the project was instead undertaken by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London—the same foundry that cast the original Liberty Bell.

Gifted, July 6, 1976

Queen Elizabeth II dedicated the bell as a symbol of the shared heritage and enduring ties between the British and American peoples.

Moved, 2013

The bell was placed in a tower outside of the park’s original visitor center at 3rd and Chestnut Streets and resided there until 2013, when it was removed and placed in storage.

Dedicated, Apr 30, 2025

Related People & Organizations

Queen Elizabeth II,Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, visited Philadelphia to give the Bicentennial Bell to the people of the United States on behalf of the people of Great Britain. 49 years later, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, dedicated the Benjamin Rush Garden, the new home of the Bicentennial Bell.

Related Sites

Liberty Bell, Philadelphia-Bicentennial Bell was cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, England, the same foundry that first cast the bell that later became the “Liberty Bell”.

Benjamin Rush Garden

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