dead ringer. Fifty-five exact replicas of the Liberty Bell were forged in France in 1950 and were distributed to each state and United States territory as part of a savings bond drive undertaken by the U.S. Treasury. The Washington State Liberty Bell was granted to the Washington State Historical Society for safekeeping and thus resides in Tacoma. Currently the bell is located behind the old Union Station. (Photo by patrick snapp)
Dear Readers: This is an ongoing series of articles paying tribute to Tacoma’s public art works that often go missed by busy commuters passing through and even locals who walk past these monuments every day but never stop to appreciate them. Enjoy!
While many of Tacoma’s monuments and public artworks are placed along walkways and thoroughfares, there are others that are tucked away in nooks and crannies where they are rarely if ever encountered by the average citizen. One of the latter is an exact replica of the Liberty Bell that is set around to the back side of the old Union Station (now the federal courthouse). To view the bell, one must descend a flight of steps that runs from Pacific Avenue along the south side of the building. (The bell is visible from the Bridge of Glass if one knows just where to look.)
The Washington State Liberty Bell replica is one of 55 that were commissioned by the United States Treasury as part of a 1950 savings bond promotional campaign called “the Independence Savings Bond drive.” Financed by a group of copper companies, the 55 replicas of the Liberty Bell were forged in Annecy, France, since no American company was capable of such a project at that time. The bells were made to the exact size of the original (six feet tall and weighing more than a ton). They were also made to sound the same tone as the original did before its famous crack made it mute.
In 1950 the United States Treasury presented one Liberty Bell to each of the states and territorial possessions. One was given to the District of Columbia and one remained in France.
The Ford Motor Company donated 53 new trucks to take the bells to each of their destinations. The bells then traveled around their various states and regions as a means of attracting crowds to whom a pitch to buy savings bonds was delivered under the slogan: “Save for your independence.”
On May 15, 1950, ceremonies at South 9th Street and Broadway marked the arrival of the bell and the kickoff of the savings bond drive. The Jason Lee Junior High School band provided music and there was a Marine Corps honor guard. After the ceremony, the Liberty Bell was taken to Annie Wright Seminary and to Jason Lee, Stewart and Mason junior high schools before it left for Olympia, where then Governor Arthur B. Langlie met it along with the combined student bodies of all elementary and secondary schools there. The bell then commenced on its two-month tour of Washington before returning to Tacoma on July 9, 1950.
On that date, another round of ceremonies took place at the old Washington State Historical Society building (315 Stadium Way), which was to become its permanent home. An alcove lined with black walnut panels was set aside as the bell’s permanent home. Permanence, however, is not what it used to be. In 1994, the bell was relocated (“re-commissioned”) to its current location outside the federal courthouse. There it is tucked away down by the parking lot, where few people other than court employees ever encounter it.
All the fanfare that accompanied the coming of this replica Liberty Bell to Tacoma is pale by comparison to the pomp and pageantry associated with a 1915 visit of the original Liberty Bell when it was taken on its last national tour. Then the true Liberty Bell, mounted on a flat train car, was parked at South 11th and ‘A’ streets (site of the old Federal Building) and a grand parade was held. Thousands came that day to see the Liberty Bell in a spirit of near religious fervor. Nevertheless, the 1950 replica of the Liberty Bell was still a symbol with the power to draw public attention. Then the Cold War was underway and the Korean conflict was beginning to boil. Patriotic national symbols held a potency then that they might not possess today.
Those who venture down the flight of steps to visit the Washington State Liberty Bell replica are treated to a pleasant and probably private encounter. The bell is of impressive stature and is surrounded by a circular walkway and prim plantings. A plaque gives information on the bell.
For further information on the original Liberty Bell as well as the 1950 replicas visit www.libertybellmuseum.com.
Contact the writer at dave@tacomaweekly.com.
