''Freedom Bell, American Legion'', is a public artwork located at

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

in Washington, D.C., United States. A replica of the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

, ''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

. The bell, which was cast by

Petit & Fritsen Royal Bellfounders Petit & Fritsen, located in Aarle-Rixtel, the Netherlands, is a former foundry, one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the Netherlands, with the foundry dating back to 1660. Petit & Fritsen was a foundry that cast bells f ...

, weighs 8 tons and has a support structure of post and beam style with two concrete shafts. Set into the paving in front of the bell is a plaque 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 The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, is a model of the bell on display at the American Legion Headquarters in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana. Authorized by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

on October 12, 1976, it was cast outside of the US because no

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

had the capacity to cast the bell. When the bell was completed it was shipped to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and then traveled to all 48 contiguous states aboard the American

Freedom Train Two national Freedom Trains have toured the United States: the 1947–49 special exhibit Freedom Train and the 1975–76 American Freedom Train which celebrated the United States Bicentennial. Each train had its own special red, white and blue p ...

for the Bicentennial, starting on April 1, 1975, in Wilmington, Delaware, and ending December 31, 1976, in Miami, Florida. The bell shared train car No. 41 (later renumbered 40) with a map of the American Freedom Train's journey and a

lunar rover A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo Program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rov ...

. From 1977–1978 the bell was placed in

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

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 The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...

, were unhappy with the bell's placement.

Artist

The details of the casting were handled by I. T. Verdin Company of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, 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.

References

External links

The Story of the 1975–1976 Bicentennial American Freedom Train''Freedom Bell'' on HMDB
{{Portal bar, United States, Visual arts Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Individual bells in the United States Liberty symbols American Legion 1976 in the United States 1976 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. United States Bicentennial Northeast (Washington, D.C.)

Description

Information

Artist

See also

References

External links