Liberty Bell moves to a new home

PHILADELPHIA -- Strapped to a specially made cart with wheels, the Liberty Bell made a four-hour, 1,000-foot journey Thursday to its new home in a procession featuring re-enactments of historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Susan B. Anthony.

The bell arrived shortly after 11 a.m. at the Liberty Bell Center, a new facility constructed as part of a sweeping $314 million transformation of Independence Mall. Workers then moved the fragile artifact into place.

The bell began its slow journey after a town crier dressed in colonial garb brought the event to order, clanging his bell and hollering, "Oyez, oyez, clear the way for liberty. Let freedom ring, let freedom ring."

The procession was interrupted every few minutes by vignettes in which actors impersonating historic figures delivered proclamations or re-enacted historic moments.

An actor impersonating Jefferson espoused the values of self- government, and a Frederick Douglass impersonator assailed the institution of slavery. There were black Civil War soldiers, World War II sailors and a Benjamin Franklin impersonator, a common sight at Philadelphia historic celebrations.

A team of engineers walked alongside the 2,080-pound bell during the journey, monitoring with a hand-held electronic device the vibrations caused by the move and the size of the famous crack.

Phil Sheridan, spokesman for Independence National Historical Park, said the move from its previous display at the Liberty Bell Pavilion was necessary to provide space for displays and exhibits around the bell.

A couple hundred people watched the move.

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