NEWPORT, Ky. — Newport's well-known World Peace Bell is moving to a new but temporary home Thursday morning, the city has announced.
Thursday morning, at around 10 a.m., crews with Maxim Crane and Hosea Project Movers will carefully move the giant bell from its York Street home of nearly 25 years to the Newport Public Works lot at East 11th Street and Saratoga Street.
Newport Police will also be there to help with oversight and planning — including Newport Police Captain Kevin Drohan, who was on the police detail that escorted the bell into Newport when it arrived in 1999.
According to the city, while the bell is being moved one block of Monmouth Street will be closed and no parking will be permitted along the bell's route beginning at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
The bell will travel from York Street east on East 5th Street, then south on Monmouth Street to East 11th Street.
Signs highlighting where parking will not be allowed will be posted — then removed block by block as the bell makes its way through Newport.
According to the city, the entire move is anticipated to take around one hour, or less as long as there are no complications.
The city said a permanent home for the World Peace Bell to live out its future years has not yet been determined.
The bell is moving because the block in which it currently stands is undergoing a new development project. Construction on that began in June; the new development will border Monmouth, York, Fourth and Fifth Streets.
Hotel operator Shaun Pan will lead the development of two Hilton brand hotels, TRU and Home 2 Suites. Pan is the owner and operator of the Hampton Inn & Suites on the riverfront.
The 33-ton bell, which first rang on Jan. 1, 2000 to celebrate the new millennium, will be no easy item to pick up and move. It weighs a whopping 66,000 pounds, stands 12 feet tall and is 12 feet in diameter, according to Kentucky Tourism. The yoke inside of which it swings also weighs an additional 16,512 pounds.
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