Franklin Court

Frommer's Review

Franklin Court is an imaginative, informative, and downright fun (and free) museum run by the National Park Service. Designed by noted architect Robert Venturi, it was very much a sleeper when it opened in April 1976, because Market and Chestnut streets' arched passages give little hint of the court and exhibit within.

Franklin Court was once the home of Benjamin Franklin, who had resided with his family in smaller row houses in the neighborhood prior to living here. Like Jefferson at Monticello, Franklin planned much of the interior design of the house, though he spent the actual building period first as Colonial emissary to England, and then to France. His wife, Deborah, oversaw the construction, as the flagstones engraved with some of her correspondence show, while Ben sent back continental goods and a constant stream of advice. Sadly, they were reunited in the family plot at Christ Church Burial Ground, since Deborah died weeks before the end of Ben's 10-year absence. Under the stewardship of his daughter Sarah and her husband, Richard Bache, Franklin Court provided a comfortable home for Ben until his death in 1790.

Since archaeologists have no exact plans of the original house, a simple frame in girders indicates its dimensions and those of the smaller print shop. Excavations have uncovered wall foundations, bits of walls, and outdoor privy wells, and these have been left as protected cutaway pits. It is all very interesting, but enter the exhibition for the really fun part. After a portrait and furniture gallery, a mirrored room reveals Franklin's far-ranging interests as a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, and so on. At the Franklin Exchange, dial various American and European luminaries to hear what they thought of Franklin.

The middle part of the same hall has a 15-minute series of climactic scenes in Franklin's career as a diplomat. On a sunken stage, costumed doll figures brief you, and each other, on the English Parliament in 1765, the Stamp Act, the Court at Versailles (when its members were wondering whether to aid America in its bid for independence), and the debates of the Constitution's framers in 1787, which occurred right around the corner at Independence Hall. Needless to say, Ben's pithy sagacity wins every time.

On your way in or out on the Market Street side, stop in the 1786 houses that Ben rented out. One is the Printing Office and Bindery, where you can see Colonial methods of printing and bookmaking in action. The house at 322 Market St. is the restored office of The Aurora and General Advertiser, the newspaper published by Franklin's grandson. Next door, get a letter postmarked at the Benjamin Franklin Post Office (remember, Ben was Postmaster General, too!). Employees still stamp the marks by hand. Upstairs, a postal museum is open in summer.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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