History Endangered: Can the Shrine Be Saved?

This isn't the blog post I had intended to write today, but it's the one that I'm writing because... well, to put it bluntly, I'm upset.

A while back, my friend John, who lives in Allentown, contacted me to say that the Liberty Bell Shrine on Hamilton Street was in trouble. My regular readers may recall that the old Zion's Reformed Church is where the Liberty Bell was concealed for safekeeping during the American Revolution; for sixty years, a museum has been maintained in the church basement to celebrate this fact. Last summer they got a PHMC marker and I attended the dedication ceremony. At the time, attendance in the church was dwindling, due to an aging congregation, and they were expecting to sell the building.

John was letting me know that the museum was in danger of not surviving the forthcoming transition. As a member of the museum, I was concerned; however, due to various schedule conflicts I didn't have a chance to follow up on his tip, and what I had heard from other sources was that the buyers of the church were interested in maintaining the museum's presence, so I thought it was one of those things that would work itself out.

I have always been a little too optimistic.

The most recent update on the situation comes to us from local television news station WFMZ. In a recent story, they broke the news that the church building was purchased by the Resurrection Community Church. At first, they appeared to be interested in maintaining the relationship between church and museum. The terms of this relationship, however, were a devastating change. During the sixty years since the museum was established, Zion's Reformed only ever charged them rent at the rate of $1 per year. Resurrection's new lease would require them to pay $1,300 per month. Admittedly, the article doesn't make it clear whether this rent was proposed by the church or by the museum; but it also doesn't seem to matter, since the church leaders have stated that "any deal is not in the best interest of the church."

I have no doubt that they're correct when they say that the church building requires renovations, given the age of the structure, and that funds will be needed for this purpose. But it pains me deeply that it comes at the cost of a Lehigh Valley treasure. I was born less than a mile away from the church; I have known all my life that we played this role in the Revolution. I'm hardly alone in that.

So what happens now? Does the museum have to fold? Can the relics and art be relocated to another appropriate place - and if so, where? The historical marker will remain, if nothing else, but what about the giant mural and the replica bell and Pip the Mouse?

I'm a little too optimistic, as I said, but I do think it can be saved somehow. I'm looking into my own resources and passing information to the museum where I can. But since I have this blog as my voice, I thought I would try to get the story out there to my readership across the commonwealth (and beyond, in a few cases) to see if anyone might have an idea. If you think you can help, I urge you to please contact the museum - their website is here - and let them know what can possibly be done.

The history has been made. Preserving it is in our hands now.

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.