Editing Liberty Bell (section)

====Liberty Bell Center====
[[File:Liberty Bell on display (2022).jpg|alt=The Liberty Bell hangs in a glass-backed structure with a brick, 18th-century building with a steeple visible in the background.|thumb|The interior of the Liberty Bell chamber at the Liberty Bell Center with [[Independence Hall]] and the Centennial Bell visible in its steeple in the background]]
[[File:Independence Hall2.jpg|thumb|[[Independence Hall]] with the [[Liberty Bell Center]] (on right) in August 2004]]
[[File:Liberty bell mount.JPG|thumb|A view of the Liberty Bell's mount in October 2009]]
[[File:Liberty Bell Center South (front view).jpg|alt=The south end of the Liberty Bell Center|thumb|The south end of Liberty Bell Center with both the Liberty Bell and a  reflection of [[Independence Hall]] in January 2022]]
In 1995, the Park Service began preliminary work on a redesign of Independence Mall. Architects [[Robert Venturi|Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates]] developed a master plan with two design alternatives. The first proposed a block-long visitors center on the south side of [[Market Street (Philadelphia)|Market Street]], which would also house the Liberty Bell. This would have interrupted the mall's three-block vista of Independence Hall, and made the bell visible only from the south, on Chestnut Street. The second alternative placed a similar visitors center on the north side of Market Street, also interrupting the mall's vista, with the bell in a small pavilion on the south side.<ref>Stephan Salisbury, "Architects push proposal to ring Liberty Bell with visitors center," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', July 2, 1996.</ref> City planner [[Edmund Bacon (architect)|Edmund Bacon]], who oversaw the mall's design in the 1950s, saw preservation of the vista of Independence Hall as essential. He created his own plan that included a domed bell pavilion built north of Market Street.<ref>Henry Magaziner, "A Debate: Imagining the Mall," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', June 30, 1996.</ref> Public reaction to the possibility of moving the Liberty Bell so far from Independence Hall was strongly negative. NPS announced that the bell would remain on the block between Chestnut and Market streets.<ref>''Revision of the Proposed Plan for Independence National Historical Park'', "Alternate E-1: Site Specific Actions #10 – Liberty Bell" (Denver, CO: National Park Service, September 1996), p. 11.</ref>  Other plans were proposed, each had strengths and weaknesses, but the goal of all was to encourage visitors to see more of the historical park than just the Liberty Bell.<ref>Thomas Hine, "Lost in Space on Philadelphia's Independence Mall," ''The New York Times'', February 9, 1997.</ref>

The [[Olin Partnership]] was hired to create a new master plan for Independence Mall; its team included architect [[Bernard Cywinski]], who ultimately won a limited design competition to design what was called the Liberty Bell Center (LBC). Cywinski's design was unveiled in early 1999. Significantly larger than the existing pavilion, allowing for exhibit space and an interpretive center,<ref>Laurie Olin, "Giving Form to a Creation Story — The Remaking of Independence Mall," in Rodolphe el-Khoury, ed., ''Liberty Bell Center, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson'' (Philadelphia, PA: Oscar Riera Ojeda & Associates, 2006) {{ISBN|0-9746800-4-4}}</ref> the proposed LBC building also would cover about 15% of the footprint of the long-demolished [[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]], the residence used by [[George Washington]] and [[John Adams]] before the [[White House]] was completed in 1800.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/history/maps/map.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808001437/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/history/maps/map.htm|url-status=dead|title=Footprints of LBC and President's House|archive-date=August 8, 2011}}</ref> Archaeologists excavating the LBC's intended site uncovered remnants of the 1790–1800 executive mansion that were reburied.<ref>[[Faye Flam]], "Formerly on Ice, Past Unearthed. The Icehouse Found in Philadelphia Gives Glimpse into Colonial History," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', February 23, 2001.[http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/pi022301.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419144337/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/pi022301.htm|date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> The project became highly controversial when it was revealed that [[George Washington]]'s slaves had been housed only feet from the planned Liberty Bell Center's main entrance.<ref>Stephan Salisbury & Inga Saffron, "Echoes of Slavery at Liberty Bell Site," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', March 24, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq032402.htm |title=Echoes of slavery at Liberty Bell site |access-date=2012-03-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419204831/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq032402.htm |archive-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> The Park Service refused to redesign the LBC building, or delay its construction.<ref>Joann Loviglio, "Historians decry burying history for Liberty Bell," Associated Press, March 30, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/ap033102.htm |title=Historians decry burying history for Liberty Bell |access-date=2012-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419133730/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/ap033102.htm |archive-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> NPS initially resisted interpreting the slaves and the slave quarters,<ref>Stephan Salisbury, "Proposed wording on slave quarters draws fire," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', October 31, 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq103102.htm |title=Proposed wording on slave quarters draws fire |access-date=2012-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007155511/http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/inq103102.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2012}}</ref> but after years of protest by Black activists, agreed.<ref>Stephen Mihm, "Liberty Bell Plan Shows Freedom and Slavery," ''The New York Times'', April 23, 2003.[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/23/arts/liberty-bell-plan-shows-freedom-and-slavery.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907034241/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/23/arts/liberty-bell-plan-shows-freedom-and-slavery.html|date=September 7, 2017}}</ref>