Bicentennial Bell, given to U.S. by Queen Elizabeth II in 1976, to go back on display in Philadelphia

After a decade in storage, the Bicentennial Bell is coming back.

A 10-ton replica of the Liberty Bell cast at London’s Whitechapel Bell Foundry, where the original Liberty Bell was made in 1752, the Bicentennial Bell formerly hung in a brick bell tower at Third and Chestnut Streets. It arrived to Philadelphia in 1976, when Queen Elizabeth II gave it to the United States during a visit to the city for the country’s 200th birthday.

And it hung in that bell tower for nearly 40 years, until it was put in storage in 2013. That year, the building where it was displayed was demolished to accommodate the Museum of the American Revolution, and the bell was socked away.

Now, the Bicentennial Bell will be once again placed on public display, this time in the Benjamin Rush Garden at Third and Walnut Streets, which is set to be revamped as part of a collaboration between Independence National Historical Park and the Independence Historical Trust. Funded in part by a $1 million donation from the Landenberger Family Foundation, the project is scheduled for completion in summer 2024.

As part of that project, the Bicentennial Bell is to serve as the centerpiece of the remodeled garden, where it will be placed on an armature to be displayed in midair. Other renovation plans for the garden include connecting its upper and lower areas with a ramp, repairing a dilapidated water feature, and landscaping the area with shrubs and other plant species that the North American colonies and England traded in the 1700s.

Its new display location will allow the Bicentennial Bell to be “appreciated by everyone who visits” the city, said Independence Historical Trust executive director Tom Caramanico.

“It’s an important piece of our history,” he added.

The Bicentennial Bell itself arrived in Philadelphia in June 1976, a month ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the city. The day of her visit, Queen Elizabeth toured the city, and in a ceremony at Independence Hall, rang the Bicentennial Bell for the first time.

Kind of. She pressed a button that was supposed to cause the bell to ring in its tower, but it didn’t go off, according to Inquirer coverage from the time. Prince Philip tried his hand at ringing it, too, but the bell remained silent. Eventually, a press of the button did ring the bell — but the issue, The Inquirer reported, was that “a fellow up in the tower was supposed to ring the bell when he saw the queen push the button,” and was “slow on the uptake.”

Queen Elizabeth, however, did go home with a gift from Philly for her trouble. Officials presented her with a miniature Liberty Bell made from scraps collected during the repair of the original bell’s crack, according to an Inquirer report. The Liberty Bell, the Queen said during her visit, is “one of the finest symbols of any country in the world.”

News of the Bicentennial Bell’s return comes amid ongoing preparations for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is expected to bring millions of tourists to Philadelphia in the summer of 2026. As part of plans for that celebration, four Philadelphia groups recently announced $9 million in funding for area nonprofits that will be used to commemorate the occasion.

The move also comes just ahead of the arrival of a new Independence National Historical Park superintendent, Steven Sims, who was hired for the job last month. Sims, a retired commissioned Army officer and descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier, succeeds former superintendent Cynthia MacLeod, who retired last spring after 42 years in the National Park Service.

“The queen graciously presented this bell to the former colonies on America’s 200th birthday, and this project will place that bell back on public display, just in time for our next milestone celebration,” acting park superintendent Alexcy Romero said.