Benjamin Franklin National Memorial
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Franklin National Memorial — located in the rotunda of The Franklin Institute
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
— features a colossal seated statue of Benjamin Franklin
. The 20 feet (6.1 m) high memorial, sculpted by James Earle Fraser between 1906 and 1911, honors the writer, inventor and American statesman. The statue weighs 30 short tons (26.8 LT) and sits on a 92 short tons (82.1 LT) pedestal of white Seravezza
marble. The statue is the focal piece of the memorial hall, designed by John T. Windrim
after the Pantheon
, dedicated in 1938.
Congress designated the national memorial
on October 25, 1972 (Public Law 92-551). Unlike most national memorials, the statue is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The national memorial is an affiliated area of the National Park Service
, assigned to Independence National Historical Park
through a Memorandum of Agreement entered into on November 6, 1973. Under the terms of the agreement, the Institute owns and maintains the publicly accessible memorial, and the Park Service includes the memorial in official publications and otherwise cooperates with the Institute in all appropriate and mutually agreeable ways on behalf of the memorial.
Public Law 109-153 (December 30, 2005) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior
to make available to the Institute up to $10,000,000 in matching grants for the rehabilitation of the memorial and for the development of related exhibits. This appropriation commemorates the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth on January 17, 1706.
In 2008 the Memorial underwent a $3.8 million dollar restoration that included the installation of a multi-media presentation about Philadelphia's most famous citizen - now featured in the 3½-minute show, Benjamin Franklin Forever. The memorial's new digital projection, theatrical lighting and audio effects are fully utilized in a program that introduces Benjamin Franklin as a curious tinkerer—and demonstrates his profound impact on the world as a premiere international citizen, statesman, civic leader and scientist. The refurbishment also includes improved acoustics, state-of-the-art LED lighting upgrades and restoring and re-gilding the oculus to its original brilliance. Throughout the day, quotes from Ben Franklin are projected onto the walls, and graphic panels highlighting Franklin's life and accomplishments provide visitors with a still greater appreciation of this Founding Father.
Admission to the National Memorial is free.
The memorial prominently appears in the movie National Treasure
.
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
— features a colossal seated statue of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
. The 20 feet (6.1 m) high memorial, sculpted by James Earle Fraser between 1906 and 1911, honors the writer, inventor and American statesman. The statue weighs 30 short tons (26.8 LT) and sits on a 92 short tons (82.1 LT) pedestal of white Seravezza
Seravezza, Italy
Seravezza is a town and comune belonging to the Province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany, Italy. It is located in Versilia, close to the Apuan Alps.-Bounding communes:*Forte dei Marmi*Massa*Montignoso*Pietrasanta*Stazzema-Patron saints:...
marble. The statue is the focal piece of the memorial hall, designed by John T. Windrim
John T. Windrim
John Torrey Windrim was an American architect.He trained in the office of his father, architect James H. Windrim. He was elected to the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1901, and became a Fellow of the Institute in 1926...
after the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, dedicated in 1938.
Congress designated the national memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
on October 25, 1972 (Public Law 92-551). Unlike most national memorials, the statue is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The national memorial is an affiliated area of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, assigned to Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Philadelphia that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the park comprises much of the downtown historic...
through a Memorandum of Agreement entered into on November 6, 1973. Under the terms of the agreement, the Institute owns and maintains the publicly accessible memorial, and the Park Service includes the memorial in official publications and otherwise cooperates with the Institute in all appropriate and mutually agreeable ways on behalf of the memorial.
Public Law 109-153 (December 30, 2005) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
to make available to the Institute up to $10,000,000 in matching grants for the rehabilitation of the memorial and for the development of related exhibits. This appropriation commemorates the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth on January 17, 1706.
In 2008 the Memorial underwent a $3.8 million dollar restoration that included the installation of a multi-media presentation about Philadelphia's most famous citizen - now featured in the 3½-minute show, Benjamin Franklin Forever. The memorial's new digital projection, theatrical lighting and audio effects are fully utilized in a program that introduces Benjamin Franklin as a curious tinkerer—and demonstrates his profound impact on the world as a premiere international citizen, statesman, civic leader and scientist. The refurbishment also includes improved acoustics, state-of-the-art LED lighting upgrades and restoring and re-gilding the oculus to its original brilliance. Throughout the day, quotes from Ben Franklin are projected onto the walls, and graphic panels highlighting Franklin's life and accomplishments provide visitors with a still greater appreciation of this Founding Father.
Admission to the National Memorial is free.
The memorial prominently appears in the movie National Treasure
National Treasure (film)
National Treasure is a 2004 mystery adventure heist film from the Walt Disney Studios under Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub...
.
See also
- Benjamin Franklin HouseBenjamin Franklin HouseBenjamin Franklin House is a museum in a terraced house in Craven Street, London, close to Trafalgar Square. It is the only surviving former home of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The house dates from circa 1730 and Franklin lived and worked there for sixteen...
- the only surviving home of Benjamin Franklin, now a museum. It is in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.