The Liberty Bell X-rays
The Liberty Bell Center
In 1975 and 2001, before the Bell moved to its new homes, technicians x-rayed it for hidden flaws.
Left: Photograph, "X-ray of the Liberty Bell," By Eastman Kodak Company, 30 October 1975
Right: Photograph, "X-ray of the Liberty Bell," by Conam Inspection, 27 April 2001
Last modified at 12:19 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, 2001
Liberty Bell gets X-ray checkup before move
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- The Liberty Bell is undergoing a checkup less than a month after it was damaged by a man with a hammer.
A suburban Chicago company took about a half-dozen X-rays of the bronze bell on Friday night.
"We don't know what's going on inside the bell. All we know is it's been through a lot in its 250-year history," said Karie Diethorn, the chief curator of Independence National Historical Park. Conam Inspection, which is conducting the test, is the same company that took X-rays of the bell 25 years ago. That inspection was done before the bell was moved from Independence Hall to its current home in a glass pavilion.
Friday's inspection was planned in advance of a move early next year to a new, larger pavilion nearby.
"We're very interested to see the difference between the X-rays taken 25 years ago and the ones taken today," Diethorn said.
She said the inspection would have been done anyway, but was moved up by about six months because of public concern following the hammer attack. Ultrasound tests are also planned as part of the monitoring of the bell's condition.
Mitchell Guilliatt, 27, from Nebraska, was arrested after the April 6 attack and was charged with damaging U.S. property. Witnesses said he chanted "God lives!" as he banged on the bell several times following a tour, causing small dents and chips.
Guilliatt, who later said he was trying to ring the bell, not damage it, was found incompetent to stand trial and is undergoing a 30-day psychiatric exam.
Despite the attack, National Park Service officials have vowed to keep the historic bell accessible to the public.
The commonwealth of Pennsylvania ordered the bell from England to hang in its statehouse, now known as Independence Hall, but officials were displeased with its sound when it arrived in 1752.
The bell was melted down and recast in Philadelphia in 1753, Diethorn said. It hung in the tower of Independence Hall until the 1840s, though it wasn't particularly famous until it was given the name "Liberty Bell" when it was adopted as a symbol of freedom by the anti-slavery movement in the 1830s.
Results of Friday's inspection should take about a month to analyze.
www.cjonline.com/stories/042801/new_libertybell.shtml
The Liberty Bell X-rays
The Liberty Bell Center
In 1975 and 2001, before the Bell moved to its new homes, technicians x-rayed it for hidden flaws.
Left: Photograph, "X-ray of the Liberty Bell," By Eastman Kodak Company, 30 October 1975
Right: Photograph, "X-ray of the Liberty Bell," by Conam Inspection, 27 April 2001
Last modified at 12:19 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, 2001
Liberty Bell gets X-ray checkup before move
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- The Liberty Bell is undergoing a checkup less than a month after it was damaged by a man with a hammer.
A suburban Chicago company took about a half-dozen X-rays of the bronze bell on Friday night.
"We don't know what's going on inside the bell. All we know is it's been through a lot in its 250-year history," said Karie Diethorn, the chief curator of Independence National Historical Park. Conam Inspection, which is conducting the test, is the same company that took X-rays of the bell 25 years ago. That inspection was done before the bell was moved from Independence Hall to its current home in a glass pavilion.
Friday's inspection was planned in advance of a move early next year to a new, larger pavilion nearby.
"We're very interested to see the difference between the X-rays taken 25 years ago and the ones taken today," Diethorn said.
She said the inspection would have been done anyway, but was moved up by about six months because of public concern following the hammer attack. Ultrasound tests are also planned as part of the monitoring of the bell's condition.
Mitchell Guilliatt, 27, from Nebraska, was arrested after the April 6 attack and was charged with damaging U.S. property. Witnesses said he chanted "God lives!" as he banged on the bell several times following a tour, causing small dents and chips.
Guilliatt, who later said he was trying to ring the bell, not damage it, was found incompetent to stand trial and is undergoing a 30-day psychiatric exam.
Despite the attack, National Park Service officials have vowed to keep the historic bell accessible to the public.
The commonwealth of Pennsylvania ordered the bell from England to hang in its statehouse, now known as Independence Hall, but officials were displeased with its sound when it arrived in 1752.
The bell was melted down and recast in Philadelphia in 1753, Diethorn said. It hung in the tower of Independence Hall until the 1840s, though it wasn't particularly famous until it was given the name "Liberty Bell" when it was adopted as a symbol of freedom by the anti-slavery movement in the 1830s.
Results of Friday's inspection should take about a month to analyze.
www.cjonline.com/stories/042801/new_libertybell.shtml