Current Exhibit
The Liberty Bell Museum 60th Anniversary: The Diamond Jubilee
May through September 2022
Conceived in 1959 as a way to celebrate Allentown’s Revolutionary War connection with the Liberty Bell for Allentown’s bicentennial year of 1962, the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum has intertwined the histories of this city with one of the most famous bells in the world. Our next exhibit, “The Liberty Bell Museum 60th Anniversary: The Diamond Jubilee” takes you from the origin of the Liberty Bell, to 1777, when the Pennsylvania State House Bell was brought to what was then Northampton Towne, through 185 years of oral history that kept the legend alive, to the founding of the Museum and beyond. The exhibit runs from May-September, with a wine and cheese reception on Thursday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. Join us as the Museum celebrates its history and looks to the future.
Upcoming Exhibits
Pip, Pip, Hooray! It’s Pip the Mouse’s 60th Birthday!
October through December 2022
On October 27, 1962, “Pip: The Mouse Before Christmas,” created by Dr. George Creegan, premiered at Hess’s Department Store on Hamilton Street in Allentown. This “unusual puppet show” inaugurated an annual holiday tradition in downtown Allentown that continues to this day. Please join the Liberty Bell Museum as we celebrate 60 years of Allentown’s Official Mouse (with a proclamation to prove it!) with photographs, mementoes and memories from Pip’s generations of fans. The exhibit opens on October 20, 2022, and “Pip: The Mouse before Christmas” begins its annual run, on Friday, November 25, 2022. Pip, Pip, Hooray!
Upcoming Events
Liberty Bell Museum 60th Anniversary Celebration
September 25 at 2:00 PM
The Liberty Bell Museum is celebrating it 60th Anniversary! As we remember the past and look to the future, we would like you to join us for an afternoon of celebration!
Fun for the Whole Family!
- Replica Liberty Bell delivered by wagon
- Music
- Guest Speakers
- Kids Activities
- Balloon Animals
- Food Truck available for food purchases
Bring Your Friends and Family! Everyone is Welcome!
This Week in History
August 18, 1969: Although it “officially” ended the previous day, the last scheduled acts hit the stage at Woodstock, including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The festival was closed by Jimi Hendrix.
August 19, 1909: The first automobile race was held at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The winner was Louis Switzer, an auto engineer, who tore around the track at the breakneck speed of 57 mph.
August 20, 1833: Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd U.S. President, was born in Ohio. He was the grandson of 9th U.S. President William H. Harrison.
August 21, 1959: Hawai’i was officially admitted to the Union as the 50th state.
August 22, 1485: Henry Tudor’s forces defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last battle in England’s Wars of the Roses, a 30-year feud between two branches of the royal family. Richard was the last English king to die in battle, and Henry Tudor assumed the throne as Henry VII. Richard’s remains were discovered in 2012 in the city of Leicester under a parking lot that had once been the site of a monastery churchyard.
August 23, 1850: The first U.S. National Women’s Rights Convention convenes in Worcester, Massachusetts.
August 24, 79 CE: Vesuvius, an active volcano in southern Italy, erupted and buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under tons of ash and volcanic mud, leaving them almost perfectly preserved for future generations of archeologists.
August 25, 1916: The U.S. Department of the Interior establishes the National Park Service.
August 26, 1873: The first free kindergarten in the U.S. is established in Carondeltet, Missouri, by Susan Blow.
Sponsors of the Liberty Bell Museum
Revolutionary Supporters
Karen ElChaar
Honorary First Defenders – Allentown Chapter
Patriot Supporters
Albert P. Heydt
Colonist Supporters
Dr. Dennis and Nanci Blankowitsch
Elaine Charron
Dr. and Mrs. Walter Dex
Sandra Dorney
Jean L. Engler
Helen Holmes
Robert and Anne Kearn
Bill and Jane Marks
Joan Miller Moran
Jamie P. Mussleman
John and Anita Stevens
Rev. Robert T. Stevens
Maj. Gen. Gerald and Mrs. Erika Still U.S.A.F. (Ret.)
Frank and Susan Strouse
Doris and Ralph Todd
Ann Wertman