Inflatable Millennium Liberty Bell Proposal Rings Hollow

0 Comments | Insight on the News, May 3, 1999 | by Lisa Anderson

What does a Philadelphia architect do with $1 million and a lot of time on his hands? Build a giant inflatable Liberty Bell, of course! At least that's what architect Alan Johnson hopes to do in time for Philadelphia's millennial New Year's celebration.

Using the same polyester-reinforced vinyl that shapes the forms of Garfield and Bullwinkle for Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Johnson anticipates creating a 200-foot bell that will allow 5,000 people to stand inside and ring in the year 2000. Just so they don't get bored while they're in there, he wants to use the bell as a screen to project various historic scenes of the century. With a model he has sitting in his basement, Johnson already has showcased eclectic projections of the invention of plastic, the toilet and the atom bomb.

"It's goofy," he told the Associated Press. "But what about the big ball that drops in New York?" Amy Needle, a city official, sees his point. "We're always looking for things that are unique and fun," she said.

Unique? Yes. Fun? Definitely debatable. (Thousands of people crowded into a plastic tent illuminated by scenes of toilets and the atom bomb?) And it may just be too goofy. Hint: So far, no one has stepped forward to foot the bill. Could it be folks are suspicious of the inflatability of a balloon with a huge crack down its side?