The illuminated Liberty Bell replica at Philadelphia’s 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition was 80 feet tall.
The replica stood at the gateway to the exposition and was covered with 26,000 light bulbs. Its design used Philadelphia’s most recognizable revolutionary symbol to connect the 150th-anniversary fair with the Declaration of Independence and the city’s colonial history.
The Sesquicentennial International Exposition opened on May 31, 1926, and operated in South Philadelphia. Its grounds included exhibits, entertainment, sporting events, and a stadium built in conjunction with the fair.
The 1926 event is easy to confuse with the 1876 Centennial Exposition and the 1976 Bicentennial. “Sesquicentennial” means a 150th anniversary, so the 1926 exposition marked 150 years since 1776. The Liberty Bell replica was a temporary commemorative structure, not the historic bell itself.