By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The American Village has moved forward with their new replica of Independence Hall, installing the cupola of the replica on Thursday, March 20. American Village President and CEO Col. Alan Miller was given the honor of attaching the final piece, the weather vane.

With the completion of the cupola, the building will be the tallest in Shelby County at 178 feet. The Independence Hall will feature new programs and activities for visitors, increasing the educational reach and impact of American Village.

Melanie Poole, the American Village’s communications officer, added that the Independence Hall project is still under construction, with the cupola addition marking the second phase of the project.

“The cupola raising represented the topping out of the construction phase of the central portion of Independence Hall,” Poole said. “Now, we can turn our attention to finishing the interior and designing the programs that will take place inside.”

Poole added that the building is a near replica of the original Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

“It is a close replica of the exterior and interior features of Independence Hall,” Poole said. “The rooms are not necessarily the same because they were designed to accommodate specific educational programs that will take place inside.”

Poole then further elaborated on the educational programs being featured inside the new building.

“The new building will contain a talking portrait gallery on the first floor, and across the hall will be a replica of the assembly room where the Declaration of Independence was debated and signed,” Poole said. “On the second floor is a room that resembles the House of Burgesses, and in that room a brand new program for high school students will take place called Cornerstones of Freedom. Across from that room is a replica of the Senate chamber.”

Poole concluded by recognizing that the cupola addition is another step forward in making Independence Hall a place for American Village’s visitors to learn more about the U.S. as a whole.

“With the completion of Independence Hall, our capacity to host both students and the public will be expanded,” Poole said. “We estimate at least double (the visitors) in the first year and even more as the years go by.”

For more information on the American Village, visit Americanvillage.org.