As the country inches ever closer to its 250th anniversary, there is one iconic Philadelphia symbol that is ringing loud and clear over all the celebrations. Not only is one of the city’s semiquincentennial programs called “Ring It On!”, but the Liberty Bell — and replicas of it — is playing a large role in kicking off 2026.

To celebrate New Year’s, the National Liberty Museum is transporting its fully functional, historic 2,000-pound “younger sibling” of the Liberty Bell to Cherry Street Pier.

“This is the first time we’re taking it out of the museum since we put it in with the museum’s opening,” said Alaine Arnott, president and CEO of the National Liberty Museum. 

“This is a 2,000-pound bell we’re moving across Philadelphia,” she added. “It could snow. It could sleet … Who knows what it looks like. Our job is to be good stewards of that bell and get it there hopefully safely.”

The bell, which you can ring at the museum, will be transported to Cherry Street Pier for New Year’s celebrations. (Courtesy of National Liberty Museum)

The NLM bell was made at the Whitechapel Foundry in London, the very same one that created the original Liberty Bell. Arnott estimates it to be around a century old. The Whitechapel Foundry closed in 2017, and the NLM team is currently doing research into learning more about its history. Arnott said she believes the foundry created about nine other historic younger sibling bells like this one. 

Unlike the actual Liberty Bell, the NLM’s version is ringable and includes a  “replica crack” down the side. In addition to the pier’s celebration with fireworks, an ice rink, music and games, attendees will be allowed to take a turn and ring it.

“Any person that gets to ring the bell can’t help it but smile ear to ear,” Arnott said. “You ring that bell for the first time, and you’re just [excited] and you get the goosebumps.”

So many bells

The Liberty Bell will continue to play an important role in America’s semiquincentennial celebrations into the New Year.  In addition to the city’s historic bells, new versions of the Liberty Bell will continue to be cast in 2026. 

Cassandra Coleman, executive director of America250PA, oversees the Bells Across PA project, in which local artists have been chosen to paint fiberglass Liberty Bell replicas. The bells are now getting displayed throughout Pennsylvania, with at least one in each of the state’s 67 counties. 

“The Liberty Bell, which is such a symbol of Pennsylvania, it’s a symbol of freedom,” Coleman said. “I think it was just kind of a given that we took the Liberty Bell in a three-by-three fiberglass form, and we said to communities across this commonwealth … to these folks and these local artists, ‘Hey, let’s tell a story.’ ”

Cindy Lozito paints her bell with scenes from South Philadelphia’s Italian Market. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

The bell project is among America250PA’s most ambitious initiatives — with each artist painting a story that is important to them, highlighting the history of different communities around the state. Beyond live events, the organization is also launching a $250,000 scholarship program for graduating Pennsylvania seniors planning to attend an in-state college or university next fall. Applications are now open, and 25 students will be awarded $10,000 each.

“We also have our bronze semiquincentennial bells,” Coleman said. “These are bronze permanent bells, thousands of pounds, and they’re being installed. There’ll be six total at locations across the Commonwealth that are just undertold and lesser known. We’ve placed three thus far, and three more will be placed next year.”

The semiquincentennial bells are designed to resemble Pennsylvania’s Bicentennial Bell — also cast by the Whitechapel Foundry and presented by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to the U.S. to commemorate America’s bicentennial in 1976 — that resides at the Independence National Historic Park in Old City.

“[We’re] really using this symbol of a bell to talk about freedom, to talk about some of these undertold stories,” Coleman said.

Coming to a neighborhood near you

Philadelphia will be unveiling its 22 bells on Jan. 16. They will be located in different neighborhoods and communities across the city. Coleman claimed that using the Liberty Bell as a symbol for the state’s 250th celebrations was a no-brainer.

“These fiberglass bells may not ring, but they are far from silent, as they really are an invitation,” Coleman said. “They’re an invitation to start conversation. They’re an invitation to tell the story — to highlight these communities and their stories. They’ll echo through history as being locked into the 250th anniversary.”

Fireworks at the Cherry Street Pier. (Maria Young for DRWC)

While it may seem silly to dedicate so much energy to a cracked bell for the big anniversary, the Liberty Bell has always been larger than the sum of its parts — a reminder of our individual rights in times of chaos and confusion. 

“I think all of us need something — an icon, or something to cling to — because that is a symbol of what our Founding Fathers, all of those folks, fought for in terms of creating a liberal democracy,” Arnott said. “When you hear something like a bell. It’s a sound of gathering … It called people to church. It called people to school, and it was about those opportunities that you’re given as Americans.”

“I’m hopeful that, in 2026, we’re reminded of what we fought for,” she added. “We have to continue to protect it.”