On a recent, crisp November morning, the delicate chatter of the birds was disturbed by the whirl of a diesel engine at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Why this intrusion on nature’s solemnity? To set a 940-lb. boulder in pride of place along the museum’s main entrance, upon which the Litter Bell will be mounted.
The Litter Bell, cast with over 179 lbs. of discarded metals amassed from parks and rivers in the D.C. area, is currently being polished-up at The Verdin Company, a six-generation family of bell makers, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon, that poignant reminder of man’s impact on the natural world will be delivered back to D.C. – and it needs a home.
Image: The boulder arrives to the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum on a Tri-State Stone & Building Supply delivery truck on Nov. 21, 2024.
Image: The boulder is maneuvered off a wooden pallet and into position at the entrance to the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum by a forklift technician on Nov. 21, 2024.
The boulder, sourced locally from the Potomac basin, was lovingly donated by Tri-State Stone & Building Supply, the exclusive quarriers of Carderock® stone. A mica-schist quartzite, with veins of vibrant blues, browns, greys, and greens, the boulder will be drilled to accommodate a vertical shaft and the Litter Bell will be balanced atop.
The bell will be engraved with the text, “DO NOT LITTER” – an on-the-nose supplication and reminder. The bell will be sounded with the quick swing of an internal clapper. Together, the assemblage will offer an interactive experience for museum visitors. As long as the Litter Bell will ring, it will speak to the importance of adhering to that age-old maxim: reduce, reuse, recycle – and don't litter!
Cover image: The boulder at its new home within the gardens adjacent to the entrance of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum on Nov. 21, 2024.
