National Treasure (2004)
Independence Hall — the Heart of the Bell Tower at 2:22
From the film · 01:28:30
“The heart of the bell tower at 2:22.”
Philadelphia, daylight, Ben directing Riley to a brick that he is largely guessing about until the brick yields
What we know
A specific brick in the basement of Independence Hall, bricked over in 1776 around a hidden compartment
The shadow of the steeple's clock hand at 2:22 falls on a specific spot at the foot of Independence Hall. We trace the line down through the building, into the basement, and locate a brick that doesn't quite match its neighbors. Behind it is a small wooden compartment. Inside the compartment, wrapped in oilcloth, is a pair of spectacles — Benjamin Franklin's, with multiple swapping colored lenses — and a parchment fragment with no visible writing. Without the spectacles, the parchment is blank.
The Puzzle
The spectacles are not for seeing better. They are for seeing differently. Hold them over the Declaration.