Entrance is first come, first served. No tickets are required, and there is no admission fee. See the famous bell, but also explore the exhibits to go beyond the iconic crack. Learn how an ordinary State House bell was transformed into an extraordinary symbol.

The Liberty Bell is a familiar symbol of freedom in the United States. It was ordered by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges; it was to be installed in 1752 in the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall.

The bell was used as a symbol of freedom during the Cold War and was a popular site for protests in the 1960s. It was moved from its longtime home in Independence Hall to a nearby glass pavilion on Independence Mall in 1976, and then to the larger Liberty Bell Center adjacent to the pavilion in 2003.

The cause of the break is thought to have been attributable either to flaws in its casting or, as they thought at the time, to its being too brittle. Two Philadelphia foundry workers named John Pass and John Stow were given the cracked bell to be melted down and recast.