By M.W. Penn

PROJECT TEAM Designer: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Philadelphia Stone supplier: Vickery Stone Company, Havertown, Pa.; Fletcher Granite Co. LLC, Westford, Mass.; Johnston and Rhodes Bluestone Company, East Branch, N.Y. Stone installer: DM Sabia & Company Inc., Conshohocken, Pa.

In 1997, the master plan of Independence Mall envisioned the creation of a "Great American Place" in the heart of Philadelphia's historic district. In keeping with this spirit, the design of a new building to house the Liberty Bell on Independence Mall demanded a distinctly American building that would be seamlessly connected to this place, the city and the collective memory of events that happened here.

Designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the new 12,000-square-foot structure fulfills the vision and honors the bell's significance. Opened in October 2003, the $11 million Liberty Bell Center provides both a larger home for the bell and an exciting and authentic visitor experience. Accessible during the day, illuminated at night, and featuring several interpretive exhibits that highlight the bell's history, the new center offers visitors a contemplative experience.

Contemporary yet resonating with the 18th- and 19th-century architectural traditions of the city, the brick, stone and glass building is an open, humanly scaled place of gathering and community. Glass walls and a metal-clad wood roof join a brick and stone-paved arbor way and sun-shading trellises to form the building's enclosure. The stone paving is blue-gray Elk Brook Bluestone from Johnston and Rhodes Bluestone Company in East Branch, N.Y., in a natural cleft finish; bluestone has historical significance as a regional material original to the mall.

The bell, its story and the visitors' personal encounters with it are enveloped in three architectural elements: a covered outdoor interpretive area, an elongated rectilinear exhibit hall and a tapered cubic volume housing the bell chamber. Those coming to see the bell enter a long hallway lined with an undulating granite wall on one side and a wall of glass on the other; the Chelmsford granite wall is reminiscent of Jefferson's serpentine wall, and the glass wall looks out onto the mall. Quarried by Fletcher Granite Company in Chelmsford, Mass., the granite is guillotine cut, yielding a rough, uneven surface that appears handcrafted, and the mica content of the granite sparkles when the sunlight strikes the surface.

The visitor's experience unfolds along this granite wall within the transparent building. Here information on the construction of the bell, its historical role, and its universal meaning are presented through a series of interactive and informative displays. The exhibition consists of text panels, photographs, artwork and physical artifacts. There are places for foreign visitors to hear the story in their native languages and for large groups to assemble for special presentations.

The inclined floor plane of the exhibit area conforms to the contour of the exterior landscape, which is visible through the generous windows opening onto the mall. The walking path rises gently to a plateau where a glass and marble chamber houses the bell, but the top of the granite wall remains level, gradually decreasing the height of the wall from 13 to 10 feet as the visitor ascends toward the bell chamber.

The bell is displayed before an oblique view of Independence Hall — the Pennsylvania State House that was the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the framing of the Constitution. The view forms a compelling backdrop. In the chamber's expansive architectural volume, the great window reminds visitors of the intimate relationship of hall and bell, making the bell's importance explicit.

Cupped walls of Carrera white marble embrace the bell, creating an intimate environment for both individuals and larger audiences to view it and reflect on its meaning. The marble has soft veining, luster and a uniformity of color that allowed these walls to be layered in a delicate ashlar pattern, lending substance and weightlessness, dignity and repose to the chamber. By splaying the exterior walls and tilting the vertical angle of the marble walls slightly, the architects also softened the ambient sound in the chamber. Location, architecture and icon join to make a moving and memorable experience.

The center provides an urban edge along Sixth Street to the west and a cornerstone to the newly reconfigured Independence Mall, a public square where lunching office workers mingle with visitors from afar and schoolchildren exploring history. The stunning landscape redesign of the mall by Philadelphia's Laurie D. Olin is an inviting respite from a busy city, and the Liberty Bell Center, with its walkways and trellis, provides a sylvan pavilion at the edge of the park. Visitors exit the bell chamber along the final segment of the granite serpentine wall, emerging near the southwest corner of the mall, well positioned to continue their visit to the park's other important sites and the surrounding historic city.

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