Franklin Court

Biographical museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Franklin Court

One of Venturi & Rauch's "ghost structures" in the courtyard

Established| 1976
Location| Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Type| Biographical museum
Public transit access| 5th Street/Independence Hall
Website| https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/franklin-court.htm

U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property

Part of| Independence National Historical Park (ID66000683)
Designated NHLDCP| October 15, 1966

Franklin Court is a complex of museums, structures, and historic sites within Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at the site which American printer, scientist, diplomat, and statesman Benjamin Franklin had his Philadelphia residence from 1763 to his death in 1790.[1]

The complex was designed by the firm of Venturi and Rauch, and opened in 1976 as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration. The site consists of the archaeological remnants of the Benjamin Franklin's house and nearby buildings, "ghost" reconstruction of the form of the house and print shop, an underground museum focused on Franklin, and historic structures facing Market Street, including what are now a working post-office and printing-shop.

## History of the site[edit]

The court was the site of the house which Benjamin Franklin had built in 1763, which he owned until his death in 1790. Though Franklin was overseas during a significant portion of that time, he was in Philadelphia during much of his tenure and involvement with both the Second Continental Congress and the United States Constitutional Convention. Franklin permanently moved into the house in 1785.[1]

The house itself was built within a large courtyard in the middle of the block, accessed through an alleyway from Market Street.

In 1787, Franklin built a print shop within the lot for his grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache, who would publish the Philadelphia Aurora there. Franklin died at the site in 1790.

The house (and with it, it is suspected, the print shop) was demolished in 1812 during a redevelopment of the courtyard to an income-producing property.[1] From 1950 on, the Park Service began purchasing and assembling the lots, and in the 1950s and 60s conducted archaeological excavations there in search of what remained of the Franklin-era structures.[1]

## Architecture[edit]

The larger of Venturi and Rauch's ghost structures

With the approach of the United States Bicentennial celebration two years away, in 1974, the Philadelphia architectural firm of Venturi and Rauch created the design for the landscape and museum at Franklin Court.[1]

Most notable are the two "ghost structures" made of square tubular steel, recreating and suggesting the outline of the long-demolished buildings within the courtyard. The design resulted from inadequate historical information to properly reconstruct the structures, couple with emerging philosophical views at the time towards reconstruction of structures.[2][3] The design concept has since been emulated at other historic sites. Ten years after their construction, in 1986, the National Park Service specifically noted that the "ghost structures" should be evaluated upon reaching the 50-year limit for the National Register of Historic Places, and were listed as "non-historic, contributing."[1] According to the National Register nomination, the larger frame, depicting the Franklin House, is 49'5" x 33', by 50'6" tall at the crest of the roof, while the smaller frame, depicting the Print Shop, measures 48' by 20', with 48 feet to the crest of the roof.[1] Pavement changes demarcate the arrangement of rooms, and concrete hoods permit visitors to look down to the archaeological remains beneath.[1]

## Benjamin Franklin Museum[edit]

The museum itself is located beneath much of the surface of the court, and was built around the archaeological remains of the house. It was listed as non-contributing in the National Register nomination.[4]

From 2011 to 2013, the Franklin Court Museum underwent a multi-year total renovation.[5][6] Venturi and Denise Scott Brown (who also worked for the firm at the time) expressed disapproval of the plan, insofar as it negatively altered the 1974 design considerations and failing to recognize those considerations.[7][8] The museum reopened to the public in August 2013.[9]

The Benjamin Franklin Museum exhibit area contains a series of five rooms that contain short films, and interactive examples of language, pastimes, ideas, and inventions based on prominent character traits of Benjamin Franklin and other individuals who share his time and place in history. Each room contains videos, touch screen interactive, mechanical interactive, and artifacts.[10]

The five character traits exemplified by Benjamin Franklin that are highlighted by the rooms in the museum are: ardent and dutiful, ambitious and rebellious, motivated to improve, curious and full of wonder, and strategic and persuasive.[11]

* Glass display case containing Glass Armonica

* Touch Screen Interactive: Glass Armonica

* Mechanical Interactive: Printing Press Ink

## Franklin Court Printing Office[edit]

The Franklin Court Printing Office contains several exhibits, including a typesetting area, a bindery, two reproduction 18th century presses, and the newspaper office that once belonged to Benjamin Franklin's grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache. Park rangers are stationed in the Printing Office to demonstrate typesetting and use of the 18th century printing press to visitors.[12]

* Franklin Court Printing Office Entrance

* Park Ranger demonstrating adding ink to the typesetting

## See also[edit]

* Ben Franklin House \- historic Philadelphia hotel
* Benjamin Franklin House \- London residence
* Benjamin Franklin National Memorial \- Philadelphia
* Founding Fathers of the United States

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Independence National Historical Park National Register Nomination. National Park Service. 1988. pp. Section 7: Page 43–50 (pdf 55).
2. ^ Matero, Frank G. (May 11, 2010). "Ben's House: Designing History at Franklin Court, Philadelphia". Heritage Conservation & Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
3. ^ "Franklin Court and Ghost Structures". Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia, 1992. Fairmount Park Art Association. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
4. ^ Independence National Historical Park National Register Nomination. National Park Service. 1988. pp. Section 7: Page 52 (pdf 55).
5. ^ "Franklin Court". The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
6. ^ "Public Input Wanted on Proposed Designs for Franklin Court" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
7. ^ Macchio, Melanie (May 12, 2010). "Venturi, Scott Brown's Franklin Court Threatened". Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
8. ^ Lovine, Julie V. (May 7, 2010). "Haunting Franklin's House: Venturi, Scott Brown question plans to alter their Philly masterwork". The Architect's Library: The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
9. ^ Glusac, Elaine (August 23, 2013) [(September 1, 2013]. "A New Benjamin Franklin Museum". New York Times. p. TR3, NY edition. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
10. ^ Philadelphia, Mailing Address: 143 S. 3rd Street; Us, PA 19106 Phone:965-2305 Contact. "Visiting the Benjamin Franklin Museum - Independence National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. ^ Philadelphia, Mailing Address: 143 S. 3rd Street; Us, PA 19106 Phone:965-2305 Contact. "Benjamin Franklin's Character Traits - Independence National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. ^ Philadelphia, Mailing Address: 143 S. 3rd Street; Us, PA 19106 Phone:965-2305 Contact. "Visiting the Franklin Court Printing Office - Independence National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

## External links[edit]

* Media related to Franklin Court, Philadelphia at Wikimedia Commons
* Franklin Court \- official NPS site
* Benjamin Franklin Museum \- official NPS site
* Architect's statement by Venturi, Scott, Brown and Associates
* NPS Planning Documents (regarding renovation)

* v
* t
* e

Benjamin Franklin

* President of Pennsylvania (1785–1788)
* Ambassador to France (1779–1785)
* Second Continental Congress (1775–1776)

Founding of the
United States|

* Join, or Die. (1754 political cartoon)
* Albany Plan of Union
* Albany Congress
* Hutchinson letters affair
* Committee of Secret Correspondence
* Committee of Five
* "...to be self-evident"
* Declaration of Independence
* Model Treaty
* Franco-American alliance
* Treaty of Amity and Commerce
* Treaty of Alliance
* Staten Island Peace Conference
* 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution
* Libertas Americana
* Treaty of Paris, 1783
* Delegate, 1787 Constitutional Convention
* Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly
* Postmaster General
* Founding Fathers

Inventions,
other events|

* Franklin's electrostatic machine
* Bifocals
* Franklin stove
* Glass armonica
* Gulf Stream exploration, naming, and chart
* Lightning rod
* Kite experiment
* Pay it forward
* Associators
* 111th Infantry Regiment
* Junto club
* American Philosophical Society
* Library Company of Philadelphia
* Pennsylvania Hospital
* Academy and College of Philadelphia
* University of Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia Contributionship
* Union Fire Company
* Early American currency
* Continental Currency dollar coin
* Fugio cent
* United States Postal Service
* Street lighting
* President, Pennsylvania Abolition Society
* Master, Les Neuf Sœurs
* Gravesite

Writings|

* The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
* Founders Online
* Silence Dogood letters (1722)
* A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (1725)
* The Busy-Body columns (1729)
* The Pennsylvania Gazette (1729–1790)
* Early American publishers and printers
* Poor Richard's Almanack (1732–1758)
* The Drinker's Dictionary (1737)
* "Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress" (1745)
* "The Speech of Polly Baker" (1747)
* Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. (1751)
* Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751)
* Birch letters (1755)
* The Way to Wealth (1758)
* Pennsylvania Chronicle (1767)
* Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One (1773)
* Proposed alliance with the Iroquois (1775)
* A Letter to a Royal Academy (1781)
* Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (1784)
* "The Morals of Chess" (1786)
* An Address to the Public (1789)
* A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789)
* The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771–1790, pub. 1791)
* Bagatelles and Satires (pub. 1845)
* Franklin as a journalist
* Franklin's phonetic alphabet

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Franklin Court
* Benjamin Franklin House
* Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
* Benjamin Franklin Parkway
* Benjamin Franklin National Memorial
* Franklin Institute
* awards
* medal
* Benjamin Franklin Medal
* Royal Society of Arts medal
* Depicted in The Apotheosis of Washington
* Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
* Treaty of Paris (1783 painting)
* Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (1816 painting)
* Revolutionary War Door
* Boston statue
* Chicago statue
* Columbus, Ohio, statue
* University of Pennsylvania statue
* Portland, Oregon, statue
* San Francisco statue
* Stanford University statue
* Washington D.C. statue
* Jefferson Memorial pediment
* In popular culture
* Ben and Me (1953 short)
* Ben Franklin in Paris (1964 musical play)
* 1776 (1969 musical
* 1972 film)
* Benjamin Franklin (miniseries)
* A More Perfect Union (1989 film)
* Liberty! (1997 documentary series)
* Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series)
* Benjamin Franklin (2002 documentary series)
* John Adams (2008 miniseries)
* Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries)
* Benjamin Franklin (2022 documentary)
* Franklin (2024 miniseries)
* Refunding Certificate
* Franklin half dollar
* One-hundred-dollar bill
* Franklin silver dollar
* Washington–Franklin stamps
* other stamps
* Cities, counties, schools named for Franklin
* Benjamin Franklin College
* Franklin Field
* Mount Franklin
* State of Franklin
* Sons of Ben (Philadelphia Union)
* Ships named USS Franklin
* Ben Franklin effect

Related|

* Age of Enlightenment
* American Enlightenment
* The New-England Courant
* The American Museum magazine
* American Revolution
* patriots
* Syng inkstand

Family|

* Deborah Read (wife)
* William Franklin (son)
* Francis Franklin (son)
* Sarah Franklin Bache (daughter)
* William Franklin (grandson)
* Benjamin F. Bache (grandson)
* Louis F. Bache (grandson)
* Richard Bache Jr. (grandson)
* Andrew Harwood (great-grandson)
* Alexander Bache (great-grandson)
* Josiah Franklin (father)
* James Franklin (brother)
* Jane Mecom (sister)
* Mary Morrell Folger (grandmother)
* Peter Folger (grandfather)
* Richard Bache (son-in-law)
* Ann Smith Franklin (sister-in-law)

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST

National|

* Israel
* United States

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