Liberty Bell to reopen for weekend thanks to tourism group

Tourists to Independence National Historical Park take photographs through a window of the closed building housing the Liberty Bell, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018, in Philadelphia. The building is closed due to the partial government shutdown. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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December 27, 2018 - 10:01 am

Updated December 27, 2018 - 11:04 pm

PHILADELPHIA — Tourists in Philadelphia for the holidays will be able to see the Liberty Bell this weekend despite a partial federal government shutdown that closed many national parks throughout the country.

Most of the buildings in the Independence National Historic Park including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center have been shuttered since Saturday morning because of the partial shutdown.

That was bad news for tourists and the city of Philadelphia, which sees the second highest attendance at the Liberty Bell during the weekend before New Year’s Day annually.

Officials at tourism and marketing group Visit Philadelphia say they’re giving the park $32,000 to open Friday, Saturday and Sunday to let in the estimated 25,000 people who had planned to see the Liberty Bell this weekend.

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