July 4, 1976 - Bicentennial Philadelphia and SEPTA memories

Everyone:

With the 40th Anniversary of the American Bicentennial and Philadelphia 1976 celebrations does anyone have memories of what conspired back in 1976? I was a HS-age teenager and remember vividly attending ceremonies after July 4th but my best memory was something that happened on New Years Eve 1975-76 when the Liberty Bell was moved to the then-new pavilion on Market Street from Independence Hall which occurred on a cold rainy night...The Philadelphia 76 bicentennial bell logo sticks in my mind even today.

I remember SEPTA sold Bicentennial Day Passes for $1 that was useable on routes primarily serving the prime tourist areas and the renovation of the 5th Street/Independence Station with its bright porcelain enamel walls - which have held up very well for 40 years...

I recall the brightly painted PCC trolley fleet and the Blackpool, England open boat cars - but back then SEPTA was dealing with a huge graffiti problem - especially with the 1960 Market-Frankford M3 fleet and to a lesser extent on the Broad Street car fleet.

Does anyone have any Philadelphia and SEPTA Bicentennial memories to share ? I am thinking of the Bicentennial Pennsylvania slogan here: "So your children can tell their children"

It is hard to believe 40 years has passed since then remembering back in 1976 how the Bicentennial was front and center that year... I will thank all in advance for their contributions...

MACTRAXX

I was in the 'burbs at that time (just started working) so I don't have a lot of SEPTA-specific memories but I do recall a lot of pageantry and other special events. Watergate was only two years before and the country was still recovering. The Bicentennial gave us reason to be proud Americans once again, regardless of party. President Ford came to what was then Valley Forge State Park for the ceremonies handing it over to the federal Park Service. Later that day we heard a very loud airplane and looked up to see Air Force One almost directly over the apartment where we lived.

As a coin collector I eagerly looked for Bicentennial quarters, halves, dollars, and Declaration of Independence $2 bills in change. I still think the drummer-boy design was absolutely inspired and should have been continued after '76.

P.S. I know it was a Freudian slip but IMO "conspired back in 1976" could easily describe what went on when Mayor Rizzo raised the spectre of hordes of protestors taking over Independence Mall. That scared away a lot of visitors who otherwise would have had a great time in Philly

JK: Thanks for your July 4, 1976 memories from 40 years ago...

As I recall that July 4th was a hot,humid sticky Summer day - I went to see Operation Sail 1976 in NY Harbor-I viewed it from the Stevens Tech campus in Hoboken, NJ and later went to the WTC Observation Deck and then concluded the day with a Harbor fireworks show - the Statue of Liberty was front and center...

As many know July 4th is a prime "getaway" holiday - with all of the competing Bicentennial celebrations almost anywhere and major events then such as NYC's Operation Sail there was plenty to do and see - after reading about Mayor Frank Rizzo's negative thoughts concerning the Philadelphia celebration I wonder why he thought that there would be protestors and others causing trouble - he only hurt any attendance of people with choices - if it was staying in the heat of the city or getting away to a "cooler" venue no doubt what my choice would have been...

Another memory was the Bicentennial trains operated to places such as Valley Forge Park on Conrail's Reading Division - something I never got a chance to ride...With that mention we cannot forget all the rail equipment that got dressed with Bicentennial color schemes then...

MACTRAXX

I recall that 8th & Market was an absolute sh_thole in both the SEPTA and PATCO zones. Horrible lighting, constant leaking resulting in unavoidable floor puddles, and an overall sense of decay - matching the atmoshpere above ground in the city at that time. Thanks to Cornbread and imitators, graffiti was running rampant.