Independence Mall

Independence Mall. Philadelphia's National Park. , A Very Different Landscape , When Independence National Historical Park was established in 1948, the area when you are standing was crowded with office buildings and warehouses dating from the late 1800s. After Philadelphia's business district shifted towards Center City in the early 1900s, many of these structures fell into disrepair., The idea of an open park in front of Independence Hall dates to 1915, but various plans were never realized. Advocates for a park wrestled with the idea of what an "appropriate setting" for Independence Hall would look like., A Landscape Transformed , Following the creation of Independence National Historical Park, officials settled on a plan: an open park that would showcase Independence Hall. This required clearing several adjacent blocks, something the National Park Service did not have funding for., Ultimately, the state of Pennsylvania completed the demolition work required. In the early 1950s, the wrecking balls went to work, clearing the way for central feature of the national park today, Independence Mall., Independence Mall was completed in the early 1970s, culminating in 1976 with the relocation of the Liberty Bell to its own pavilion on the Mall. The Mall as it appears today relfects a major redesign completed in the early 2000s, which added the Liberty Bell Center, the President's House Site, and the Independence Visitor Center. The space is anchored by Independence Hall to the south and the National Constitution Center to the north., Late 1700s - Early 1800s , This view shows the area north of Independence Hall in 1838. It contained a mix of residential and business use, much like it did in 1776, but had already become more crowded., Late 1800s - Early 1900s , By the turn of the 20th century, the area that would become Independence Mall had been transformed into a dense business district, crowded with commercial and industrial structures., Late 1900s - Today , For a time, the Liberty Bell Pavilion and the current Liberty Bell Center occupied space on Independence Mall. Built for the United States Bicentennial, the Pavilion was dismantled in 2006., [Captions:] , Above: Equipment clearing the first block of the Mall Project in May 1952, looking south from Market Street. NPS Image., Right: Independence Mall sign, photographed in September of 1953. NPS Image.