Focus on this artwork and discuss the History.
Portland has had two replicas of Philadelphia's original Liberty Bell. The first replica was purchased in 1962 for $8,000. It was constructed at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore and received a 25-year guarantee against breakage. The bell arrived in Portland in June 1963, with a damaged base and beam since the sculpture had slipped off its supports. Repairs were made before the replica was paraded through the city on a flatbed truck, then put into storage until Independence Day, when the bell was presented to the city. It was publicly rung for the first time during holiday celebrations and installed in City Hall's rotunda on May 5, 1964.On November 21, 1970, a dynamite bomb that had been placed beneath the bell detonated, damaging City Hall's east portico columns, shattering windows, and destroying the replica. No one was injured, but "shards of bell went everywhere through the main portico". The crime remains unsolved; no one claimed responsibility or was prosecuted for the blast. In 1993, The Oregonian said: "Wild, highly vocal speculation blamed the blast on either left-wing or right-wing terrorists, depending, of course, on the accusers' own political persuasions. Others guessed it was a monumental prank that careened out of control."Portland's second replica is located outside of City Hall's east portico, near the intersection of Southwest Fourth and Madison streets and across from Terry Schrunk Plaza. Private donations totaling $8,000 allowed a new bell to be purchased for $6,000 and installed not long after the blast (c. 1972). The bell has also been attributed as a gift from Philadelphia residents to Portland school children. It was dedicated on November 6, 1975. The replica was surveyed and considered "treatment needed" by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in October 1993. The Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs lists the bell as one of the state's veterans memorials.
The Oregonian Portland Terry Schrunk Plaza Philadelphia Independence Day City Hall Baltimore Smithsonian Institution Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs Save Outdoor Sculpture! Liberty Liberty Bell