The Upcoming SemiquinCentennial ( gesundheit )

At this time when everyone is talking about Founding Fathers – Why not take some time to add your voice for a Foundry ?

 The Liberty Bell was cast in London in 1752.

It was later recast twice in Philadelphia by Pass and Stow.

The Whitechapel Foundry in the East End of London was closed in 2017 and “developers who want to reopen the Whitechapel Bell Foundry as a bell-themed boutique hotel on the site”.

Signatures to protest this have been collected since then.

and from the announcement on Nov 14 2019 it seems that the foundry is lost forever.  I received an update that there was a ceremonial bell cast at the foundry. It marks the end of an era and the loss of a national treasure ( a treasure shared by two nations.)

The Petition for WhiteChapel Foundry

https://www.change.org/p/the-east-end-preservation-society-save-the-whitechapel-bell-foundry/u/25477633  

The organization to save the Foundry

http://www.savethewhitechapelbellfoundry.com

The History of the Bell and WhiteChapel Foundry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_Bell_Foundry  

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The Liberty Bell was hung in Indepenance Hall

One thing that most people do not realize - The Liberty Bell is actually owned by The City of Philadelphia.

Also, that there are no fees collected for touring the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  It is policy that these treasures are to be available to everyone.

Visiting the Liberty Bell is free and available every day except Christmas Day.  Maintenance and upkeep of the Independance National Historic Park   buildings is not offset by tickets but by the Natl Park Service and the Foundation that attempts this is

* Timed Tickets for Independance Hall are now required some months, but not January and February - and the tickets are FREE. Details at

https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/independencehall.htm

But to understand the challenges of keeping it free and maintaining the old buildings ( remember there is Carpenter Hall too) this article is enlightening.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/06/29/independence-hall

Foundation for Independance Park

https://inht.org

https://inht.org/semiquincentennial

and Donations https://inht.org/preserve-independence-campaign

and for news of the upcoming United States Semiquincentennial, commonly known as America250PA

https://www.america250pa.org/about-us