Quick Tip
How to see the Liberty Bell without waiting in a long line
If you’re really short on time, you can avoid the long line by looking in the window. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of Real Philly History, Real Fast.
The Liberty Bell is certainly one of Philly’s most popular tourist sites. And it’s well worth a visit.
But if you or your guests are short on time and just can’t wait in a long line, empty your pockets and go through an airport-like security checkpoint … there is another option.
You can see the Liberty Bell through a
window outside the Liberty Bell Center
Most tour guides know about this secret. But many other people don’t.
To find it, just walk down the brick walkway on the east side of the Liberty Bell Center from Market Street almost all the way to Chestnut Street.
On your right near the end of the building is a window where you can clearly see the Liberty Bell.
Available in multiple languages
You’ll also see buttons you can push for translations into 11 languages: English, Chinese, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese and Arabic.
It’s far better to go inside and see all the displays. And admission is free.
But when lots of tourists are in town, it can take up to an hour or more to get through.
The reason: some one million people visit the Liberty Bell each year.
So going inside is ideal. But seeing the Liberty Bell through the window is the next-best thing.
Interesting Oddities:
Look carefully at the Liberty Bell and you’ll see the word Philada twice. It was an early abbreviation for Philadelphia. Today, we say Philly.
Many people don’t realize that the Liberty Bell was ordered by the Assembly of Pennsylvania to celebrate the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privileges. That pioneering document laid out the rights and duties of Pennsylvania’s citizens in Penn’s “Holy Experiment” and permitted religious freedom.
My book, “Real Philly History, Real Fast” reported a fact almost no one knows. The National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form submitted by Independence National Historical Park says the already damaged Liberty Bell received “an additional crack” during its 1893 trip to the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. I never knew that before.
FACT FACTS
Liberty Bell Center Location: 526 Market Street.
Admission: Free
Bathroom Facilities: None. Use the Independence Visitor Center bathrooms at 6th and Market St.
Security Checkpoint: Yes. No weapons, pepper spray or knives permitted.
Some Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition
https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/64c7c6f0-14ee-4217-992b-cd9d14872a7f
https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/pennsylvania-charter-of-privileges/
https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/libertybellcenter.htm
https://www.tripsavvy.com/fun-facts-about-liberty-bell-2664652
https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/the-liberty-bell-center/
Here’s the window many people use to view the Liberty Bell. Photo by Jim Murphy.