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The Liberty Bell Pavilion was a building within Independence National Historical Park (INHP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that housed the Liberty Bell from January 1, 1976 to October 9, 2003. Designed by the architectural firm of Mitchell/Giurgola Associates to be the Bell's permanent home, it stood for only 30 years. The Bell is currently housed in a much larger building, the Liberty Bell Center, completed in 2003. The Pavilion was demolished in 2006. ==Moving the Bell== The Liberty Bell, first cast in 1752, was commissioned to be the bell for the Pennsylvania Statehouse, now called Independence Hall. Later, this was the building in which the Declaration of Independence (1776) and United States Constitution (1787) were debated and signed. The Bell originally hung in the lowest chamber of the building's wooden spire, but it was lowered into the brick tower when the rotting spire was deemed unsafe and removed. In 1852, the cracked Bell was taken down and exhibited on the Hall's ground floor.〔Greiff, pp. 35–36.〕 In 1969, Independence National Historical Park expressed concern that crowds of visitors to the upcoming 1976 United States Bicentennial could overwhelm (and possibly cause structural damage to) Independence Hall. INHP's proposed solution was to separate the Bell from the Hall, creating two visitor attractions. INHP's plan, announced in 1972, involved moving the Bell to a visitor center to be built at 3rd & Chestnut Streets (2-1/2 blocks east of Independence Hall). The Bell was to be installed on the visitor center's second story – separated, literally and visually, from the building for which it had been created and in which it had been housed for 220 years. Following severe criticism from the public and members of Congress, this plan was abandoned.〔Greiff, pp. 208–14.〕 INHP's next plan was to build a Bell pavilion at the north end of Independence Mall, on the block bounded by Race, Arch, 5th and 6th Streets (now the site of the National Constitution Center). This would have placed the Bell about a quarter-mile from Independence Hall. INHP's second plan was also soundly rejected. Philadelphia's mayor, Frank Rizzo, pressed for the pavilion to be built on the block directly north of Independence Hall, bounded by Market, Chestnut, 5th and 6th Streets. The designer chosen was Romaldo Giurgola, a Philadelphia architect known for his Modernist buildings. Giurgola began design work in early-1974; ground was broken in early-1975 and construction was completed by the end of the year. The move of the Bell some 600 feet north to its new home became part of Philadelphia's 1975 New Year's Eve celebration. The Pavilion opened to visitors at 12:01 am on January 1, 1976.〔Greiff, p. 231.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liberty Bell Pavilion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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