Have you seen a 1-ton bell?
The D.C. Council is trying to learn where a replica of the famous Liberty Bell has been for more than 30 years.
In 1950, the then-48 states and the District got replicas of the famous bell to mark the end of a U.S. Department of Treasury saving bond program. D.C.'s bell sat outside what is now the John A. Wilson Building on Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
All of the bells were made by the same French foundry that made the original bell on display in Philadelphia. The replica bells don't have the Liberty Bell's famous crack.
After the federal government began remodelling Pennsylvania Avenue in the mid-1960s, the D.C. replica disappeared, in about 1980.
Josh Gibson, the D.C. Council's official historian, rediscovered the bell's history and hopes someone might know what happened to it.
“I’m opening up the search to the public in the hopes that someone remembers back to 1980 or they’ve seen a Liberty Bell replica that they’ve always wondered what it is doing there, on the off chance that may be our bell,” Gibson said.
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There are two other Liberty Bell replicas in Washington, but they are not those that Gibson is seeking. One bell sits outside Union Station, while another resides between the White House and the Treasury Department building.
“Obviously, the gold medal prize would be if someone could give me a lead leading to the bell itself,” Gibson said.
The bell that was given to Maryland sits in Annapolis. The bell given to Virginia sits in Charlottesville.
Gibson solved one mystery last year, when he discovered and repaired a missing honorary plaque for D.C. citizens who served in World War II.
