Independence Hall, the cradle of the American Revolution, was temporarily closed today by the National Park Service as a security precaution at a time of heightened concern about homeland security. The decision to shutter the historic colonial-era building was triggered when Mayor John F. Street ceremoniously reopened a block of Chestnut Street between Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Pavilion that has been closed to traffic since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The National Park Service and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge had urged the mayor to keep the street closed for at least a few more months — while the U.S. wages war with Iraq. But Street bowed to the demands of local business figures, residents and political leaders to reopen the street to all motor and foot traffic to relieve area congestion and restore commercial vitality in Center City. Full Story
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