American Legion Freedom Bell - Washington, D.C.
N 38° 53.796 W 077° 00.392
18S E 325990 N 4307215
The American Legion Freedom Bell in Washington, D.C., was a bicentennial gift from the American Legion.
Waymark Code: WMBJN3
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 05/27/2011
Views: 17
The American Legion Freedom Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is located in front of the historic Union Station in Washington, D.C. The bell was cast in 1975 and rode on the 1975-1976 American Freedom Train in celebration of the United States' Bicentennial. The bell was carried by the American Freedom Train to all 48 contiguous states. It was permanently placed at its current location in front of Union Station on July 22, 1981.
The following supplemental information is from Wikipedia:
"Freedom Bell, American Legion, is a public artwork located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States. Freedom Bell, American Legion was surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database in 1985.
Description
The sculpture is a 2.1 scale replica of the Liberty Bell. The bell, which was founded by Petit und Fritsen, weighs 8 tons and has a support structure of post and beam style with two concrete shafts. A plaque rests on the ground in front of the bell that reads:
The Freedom Bell
Dedicated to
The Spirit of the Bicentennial
on Behalf of
The Children of Our Nation
Given By
The American Legion
And
American Legion Auxiliary
1981
Information
The bell, a bicentennial gift from the American Legion, is a model of the bell on display at the American Legion Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Authorized by Congress on October 12, 1976, it was cast outside of the US because no foundry had the capacity to cast the bell.
When the bell was completed it was shipped to Baltimore and then traveled throughout the country starting on April 1, 1975 on the Freedom Train for the bicentennial. The bell shared train car #41 with a map of the freedom train's journey and a lunar rover. From 1976-1978 the bell was placed in National Park Service storage until lengthy discussions led to an agreement and the bell was placed at Union Station in 1981. The American Legion, who hoped for placement at the National Mall, were unhappy with the bells placement.
Artist
The details of the casting were handled by I. T. Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Jack Patrick served as associate architect for the sculpture and Allen J. Wright Associates created the post and beam support for the bell. The iron work was completed by Fred S. Gichner Iron Works."
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