Benjamin Franklin Museum, Franklin Court, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia

Abstract

Philadelphia has never shirked its duty in commemorating Benjamin Franklin. From the outpouring of grief that followed his death in 1790, through the reproduction of images and texts in the nineteenth century, and the creation of numerous sites in the last century or so, Franklin’s legacy was never forgotten. Yet Franklin scholars and the general public could agree that—until recently—it was difficult to direct the city’s visitors to one location that could explain the man, his life, his varied career, and his role in the creation of the United States of America. The newly completed exhibit in the renamed and refurbished Benjamin Franklin Museum at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia goes a long way to remedy that situation.