Security concerns close historic site

The phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" may evoke images of Independence Hall in the hearts and minds of Americans, but as of yesterday, the national landmark is off-limits to visitors.

On Monday, the National Park Service made the decision to close Independence Hall in response to Mayor John Street's determination to re-open the 500 block of Chestnut Street, which has been closed to all traffic since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The neighboring Old City Hall and Congress Hall have also been closed, but the Liberty Bell will remain open to the public.

The National Park Service stressed that the visitor ban, imposed for safety reasons, is only a "very temporary" action, hopefully lasting no longer than a week.

"We were disappointed," said Barbara Grant, the mayor's director of communications. "We've been working with [the National Park Service] for over a month, and they've never raised this issue of needing to close down Independence Mall if Chestnut Street were re-opened."

The mayor began considering the reopening of Chestnut Street in late February after local merchants complained that it was crippling business and area residents protested the unsightly barriers. After extensive research funded by the local group and the city in addition to dialogues with Tom Ridge and the Department of Homeland Security, Street determined that the street could safely be re-opened.

Ridge requested late last week that Street consider keeping Chestnut Street closed, but Street ultimately decided that the current precautions did little to protect the historic area and that the street would re-open as planned.

The National Park Service, however, explained that "further protective measures" are needed.

"At seven of 388 parks nationwide, we've put in visitor screening, all of which is modeled after what you would find at an airport," said David Barna, chief of public affairs for the National Park Service. "We have a twofold job -- one, to protect these resources and also, to protect our visitors."

"Because the mayor wants to re-open the road we have to collapse the security perimeter," he added.

The buildings will be closed while new security measures, including metal detectors and increased safety personnel, are installed.

Barna said that the security precautions are necessary "in order to keep someone from driving a U-Haul down and blowing up the building."

However, the Department of Homeland Security has not received warnings of any specific threat.

While most recognize the importance of security, there are still reservations concerning the implications of locking down a national symbol of freedom.

"I drove by Independence Hall just this morning," College Dean Richard Beeman wrote in an e-mail. "I was greatly saddened to see it walled off as if it were a fortress rather than the birthplace of America's experiment -- an ongoing experiment -- in liberty."

Officials at the Mayor's Office were similarly disturbed, noting that the National Park Service has had more than five weeks to consider the potential re-opening of Chestnut Street. Grant insinuated that it should have been prepared.

"I'm not sure that the [National] Park Service can just close down the hall without permission from the city," she said, citing a memorandum of agreement dated July 1950.

The memorandum, issued from the U.S. Department of the Interior, requires "a high degree of cooperation" between the city and the department to "preserve, exhibit and interpret" city-owned properties, including Independence Hall.

In the meantime, security screening areas will be erected both on 5th and Market streets and behind Independence Hall.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.