While I was at dinner with a group of people, someone recounted a recent visit to Philadelphia. On the last day of his trip, he was flying out of Philadelphia in the afternoon. That morning, he decided to go for a run through the city to see the Liberty Bell. He described a few of the parts of the city he ran through, and someone asked, "Were you trying to be Rocky or something?" Everyone laughed. A few people said that they had in fact run up the "Rocky steps", and that it's a fun thing to do. (I found a great article about a guy who did a book on people who run up those steps.)Eventually, our runner got back to his story after the side commentary. He made it to the Liberty Bell, which is now housed inside. It used to be that you could just go up to the bell and touch it. Now, visitors have to go through a security checkpoint. Maybe that makes it seem like a more impressive symbol than when it was not protected at all.
My friend approached a group of people near the bell, who were being given a tour. The tour guide explained how important of a symbol the Liberty Bell was to people in its time. "Think of the Golden Arches, and how much of a symbol they are. They are recognizable to everyone. That is what the Liberty Bell was like to people back then."
I think someone should take advantage of this obvious similarity and seek corporate sponsorship. They could rename it Mickey D's Liberty Bell Pavilion or Ronald McDonald's Playhouse and Liberty Bell Funland. The tour guides would wear big red shoes and red wigs, and every kid would get a balloon. The bell would be painted either with yellow and red stripes, or purple with some eyes to look like Grimace. Outside, of course, would be a giant set of the golden arches with a sign underneath telling visitors, in very round numbers, how many people have seen the bell already.
