The new Liberty Bell Center (NPS photo)

A glass pavilion built in 1976 to house the Liberty Bell will be demolished this spring to clear the view from nearby Independence Hall in downtown Philadelphia. Volunteers began the five-week demolition project on Monday.

Vacant for more than two years, the modern structure is being removed as part of a $300 million redevelopment of Independence Mall in the 45-acre Independence National Historical Park.

Expected for months, the decision was announced yesterday by the National Park Service. A nearby college wanted to relocate the 2,800-square-foot pavilion to its campus but later backed off on those plans.

The bell, which hung in Independence Hall in 1776, was moved to a new center next door in 2003. An Anchorage museum will reuse its granite walls.

Some city residents say the new $13 million bell center, with its adjoining security station, is no improvement on the old pavilion. "That kicky little building ... was often criticized because it was seen as being too modern and disrespectful of Independence Hall," writes Inga Saffron, the Philadelphia Inquirer's architecture critic. "But it's hard to imagine a bigger intrusion of modern life than having a prefab security building clinging like a barnacle to the bell's new sanctuary."

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