Franklin Court is complex of museums, structures, and historic sites within

Independence National Historical Park Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National P ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. It is located at the site which American Patriot

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

had his Philadelphia residence from 1763 to his death in 1790. The complex was designed by the firm of Venturi and Rauch, and opened in 1976 as part of the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

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

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 The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

and the

United States Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, the intention f ...

. Franklin permanently moved into the house in 1785. 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 Benjamin Franklin Bache (August 12, 1769 – September 10, 1798) was an American journalist, printer and publisher. He founded the ''Philadelphia Aurora'', a newspaper that supported Jeffersonian philosophy. He frequently attacked the Federalis ...

, who would publish the ''

Philadelphia Aurora The ''Philadelphia Aurora'' was published six days a week in Philadelphia from 1794 to 1824. The paper was founded by Benjamin Franklin Bache, who served as editor until his death in 1798. It is sometimes referred to as the ''Aurora General Adver ...

'' 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. 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.

Architecture

Independence National Historical Park Franklin Court Ghost Structure

With the approach of the

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. 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. 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." 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. Pavement changes demarcate the arrangement of rooms, and concrete hoods permit visitors to look down to the archaeological remains beneath.

Benjamin Franklin Museum

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. From 2011 to 2013, the Franklin Court Museum underwent a multi-year total renovation. Venturi and

Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, ...

(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. The museum reopened to the public in August 2013. 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. 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. File:Glass Armonica Display.jpg, Glass display case containing

Glass Armonica The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from , ''harmonia'', the Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instrument that uses a ...

File:Digital Interactive Glass Armonica.jpg, Touch Screen Interactive:

File:Printing Press in Benjamin Franklin Museum.jpg, Mechanical Interactive: Printing Press Ink

Franklin Court Printing Office

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. File:Printing Office & Bindery Entrance.jpg, Franklin Court Printing Office Entrance File:Printing Press Inking in Printing Office.jpg, Park Ranger demonstrating adding ink to the typesetting

References

External links

*
Franklin Court
- official NPS site

- official NPS site
Architect's statement
by Venturi, Scott, Brown and Associates
NPS Planning Documents (regarding renovation)
{{authority control 1976 establishments in Pennsylvania Independence National Historical Park Benjamin Franklin Museums in Philadelphia Robert Venturi buildings Franklin Old City, Philadelphia Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Homes of United States Founding Fathers