Liberty Bell Philadelphia

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Location: Market St. between 5th and 6th. Sts., Philadelphia

Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is our greatest symbol of freedom. The famous bell, which visitors can view in the newly-built Liberty Bell Center, is indeed not the original bell that was sent to Philadelphia from London's White Chapel Foundry.

The original, coincidently, arrived with a crack so it was re-cast a few times by a local foundry and deemed rather unpleasant sounding. Ultimately, White Chapel cast another bell, but officials decided to stick with the original recasting, which is the bell that visitors view today.

The bell was ordered for the 50th anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, which spoke of rights and freedom for all. Though the bell is now closely associated with the Declaration of Independence, it was actually first given its name when it was associated with the abolitionists movement in the 1830s.

Starting in the 1880s and continuing for several decades, the Liberty Bell traveled from state to state, touting the importance of freedom for all. There's no concrete evidence about when the crack first started but records show that the bell was rendered unusable in 1847 on Washington's Birthday. The Liberty Bell and its famous crack is the most visited historical site in Philadelphia, so lines get quite long during the summer.