How this replica Liberty Bell is helping Philadelphia ring in the New Year
Philadelphia is ringing in the New Year with several celebrations throughout the city.
Down on the waterfront, ringing in 2026 is made possible by a replica Liberty Bell.
"This is the younger sibling of the Liberty Bell that's located a couple of blocks away," Alaine Arnott, president and CEO of the National Liberty Museum, said.
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The "younger sibling" was cast at the same place in London as the historic Liberty Bell, and matches it right down to the size, weight and even has a symbolic crack. It's called the National Liberty Museum in Old City home since the museum opened 25 years ago.
"It's moving out of the museum for the first time today," Arnott said.
A crew spent well over an hour preparing the bell for a move just a five-minute drive down the street.
"They've been working on it for about eight weeks, figuring out the logistics, finding a good company that we can partner with, because it's our job as a museum to ensure that our objects are preserved and we don't want another crack," Arnott said.
CBS News Philadelphia watched the moving crew not only get it out of the building, but balance the 2,000-pound bell on a forklift, which was moving on cobblestone in an Old City alleyway.
Just after noontime, the bell was delivered to Cherry Street Pier.
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"We're launching the semiquincentennial celebrations, so super excited about that, and we are doing the biggest fireworks show that we have ever done," Sarah Eberle, the creative director at Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, said.
By biggest, Eberle means the show has upgraded from one barge with fireworks to three, spread out across the waterfront.
At 6 p.m. and midnight, the "younger sibling" bell will kick off each fireworks show, ringing in America's 250th birthday year.
For anyone who has the chance to ring the bell, Arnott said: "What do I want them to think when they ring this bell? That liberty is worth fighting for."