Newport's World Peace Bell was on the move Thursday.
First brought to Newport nearly 25 years ago, the 66,000-pound swinging bell was removed from its original home on the corner of York and E 4th streets earlier this week in preparation for the move.
The World Peace Bell is being moved to make way for construction at the location. Two new hotels, an office building, and a parking garage are set to be built where the bell once stood.
Maxim Crane and Hosea Project Movers headed the project to transport the massive bell to its new temporary home at the Newport Public Works lot. Mary Steinman, safety compliance manager for Hosea Project Movers, says while her company moves large objects frequently, the bell's significance and artistic details made moving it a unique challenge.
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"The special part about it is it's the World Peace Bell," she said. "There's little stress fractures here and there with the bell. We just want to be very, very careful to make sure none of that causes any problems."
Onlookers lined the streets to grab photos and to catch a glimpse of the bell as it was carted through the city.
Some, like former Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso, invited others to join in and watch the spectacle roll by.
"There's hardly a time where you'll see a 66,000-pound bell go past your house. We even had a little preview party here ahead of time, and a lot of my friends came out," he said. "It was pretty cool."
The bell will start at Newport Public Works until it's time to transport to its new permanent home, which has yet to be determined. Peluso, however, has an idea of where it could end up.
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"The riverfront has been mentioned as one possible location. Other places have also been mentioned, but its resting home will probably be somewhere on the river," he told WVXU.
Wherever it ends up, Peluso says he hopes the bell's new location will be where more people can see and appreciate the massive symbol of freedom and peace.
