The Liberty Bell

The Sons of the American Revolution Committee on the Protection of Historic Buildings held its first meeting on December 22, 1941. Boyd moved quickly to solicit support from various historical and civic groups, and several subcommittees were established. In the early months of the committee's existence, he also persuaded the Insurance Company of North America to underwrite a protective mechanism costing $15,000 for the Liberty Bell. The scheme called for mounting the bell on an elevator, which, in the event of an air raid, would lower the bell into a steel and concrete underground vault. In the course of the committee's meetings and discussions, it became clear that the group's interest in Independence Hall and the buildings around it probably outstripped that of the Sons of the American Revolution. The issue that most disturbed the parent organization appears to have been lobbying. The committee had discussed creating sentiment for a national park connected with the Independence Hall group. Rep. Leon Sacks, who had intro-duced in January a bill appropriating funds for a commission to define the boundaries of a park, had asked for support. The response of the board of managers of the Sons was to disassociate itself from the committee's work with a vote of thanks to all concerned.

Boyd and Lewis were not willing to let the matter drop. Acting in a personal capacity, rather than as chairman of the committee, Boyd issued invitations to a meeting to be held at the library of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA in the Architects Building on May 21, 1942. The fifty-one people invited were carefully chosen. They included politicians, architects, representatives of city government, business groups, and historical and cultural institutions. The purpose of the meeting, as stated in the invitation, was to discuss means of protecting Philadelphia's historic buildings and, in particular, to plan open spaces around Independence Hall, Carpenters' Hall, and what the invitation called other "Shrines of National Importance."

Eighteen people attended the meeting. In addition to Boyd and Lewis, they included important representatives of Philadelphia's cultural, social, and political establishment, among them Lewis's nephew, Rep. (later Senator) Hugh D. Scott, Jr.; Dr. William E. Lingelbach, a distinguished historian and librarian of the American Philosophical Society; H. W. Wills, secretary of the Board of Trade; John P. Hallahan, president of the Carpenters' Company; Frances Wister, president of the Society for the Preservation of Landmarks and a pioneer in Philadelphia preservation efforts; Joseph Jackson, antiquarian and author; Sydney E. Martin, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the AIA, Roy F. Larson, chairman of the organization's Committee on Municipal Improvements; and C. C. Zantzinger, president of the City Parks Association.

This small group discussed plans and prospects and agreed to prepare for a subsequent organizational meeting. On June 30, 1942, fifty-seven persons assembled at the Hall of the American Philosophical Society. The major business of the meeting, the formation of an organization, was accomplished quickly. Debate over a name took longer, and the issue was not fully decided. The group did elect officers and an executive committee: Lewis as president, Larson and Miss Wisteria as vice-presidents, Joseph F. Stockwell as treasurer, and Boyd as executive secretary.