Statue of Benjamin Franklin (University of Pennsylvania)

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Statue of Benjamin Franklin
John J. Boyle
Year1896–1899
TypeBronze
Dimensions230 cm × 130 cm × 150 cm (90 in × 53 in × 59 in)
LocationUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates39°57′7″N 75°11′37.25″W / 39.95194°N 75.1936806°W / 39.95194; -75.1936806
OwnerUniversity of Pennsylvania
The statue of Benjamin Franklin on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia

A bronze statue of a seated

John J. Boyle is installed at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in front of College Hall, on Locust Walk, between 34th and 36th Streets,[1]
and is one of three statues of Franklin on the campus.

Details

It was commissioned by department store founder

Justus C. Strawbridge in 1896, as a gift to the City of Philadelphia. It was cast by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company of New York, and installed in 1899 in front of Philadelphia's Main Post Office, at 9th and Chestnut Streets.[2] Benjamin Franklin was the first United States Postmaster General. The granite pedestal was designed by architect Frank Miles Day. Its inscription quotes President George Washington
's eulogy of Franklin:

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

1706–1790
VENERATED
FOR BENEVOLENCE
ADMIRED FOR TALENTS
ESTEEMED FOR PATRIOTISM
BELOVED FOR
PHILANTHROPY

WASHINGTON

(On back of pedestal):

PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA BY JUSTUS C STRAWBRIDGE 1899

(On back of statue):

JOHN J. BOYLE 1899

HENRY-BONNARD BRONZE CO FOUNDERS NY 1899

GIFT OF JUSTUS C STRAWBRIDGE

A signed Founder's mark also appears on the back of the statue.[3]

In 1938, when the Post Office was razed, the City gave the statue on permanent loan to the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia. Franklin was a founder of the university. It was relocated to the Penn campus, and rededicated on January 21, 1939.

It was cleaned and reinstalled in 1980.

Replica

A copy of the statue was given by the New England Society to France in 1906. It is located at the Trocadéro in Paris.

Gallery

  • The statue in its original location outside the Main Post Office in Philadelphia, c. 1906
    The statue in its original location outside the Main Post Office in Philadelphia, c. 1906
  • The cast in Paris
    The cast in Paris

See also

References

  1. ^ "Philadelphia Public Art Person: Benjamin Franklin". Philart.net. 1981-06-27. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  2. ^ "Detail View". PhillyHistory. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  3. ^ "Benjamin Franklin, (sculpture)". SIRIS

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benjamin Franklin statue in front of College Hall (University of Pennsylvania).
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