The Benjamin Franklin Museum is often overlooked, but it is full of fascinating insight.
Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin’s name appears on pretty much everything in Philadelphia. Which isn’t a bad effort for a guy who ran away from an apprenticeship in Boston because he didn’t get along with his brother.
By the age of 23, he was editing and publishing the Philadelphia Gazette. By the time he died at the age of 84, he’d become one of only six people to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
For anyone else, that’d be an achievement dwarfing all others. But the fact he’s the one of the six that easily springs to mind while the others invite headscratching indicates that it doesn’t.
Philadelphia’s Historic District
Philadelphia is really good for historic stuff. Like, really, really good. If nerdy museums on how America was made and old houses once lived in by famous people that now house exhibitions dedicated to their lives are your thing, then you’re going to be in your element. The multi-block Historic District is absolutely full of it.
You can spend the day there, and still have list of places you want to visit.
Inside the Benjamin Franklin Museum, Philadelphia
In amongst all this is a museum devoted to the man on the $100 note. At first, the Benjamin Franklin Museum a confusing place, because it’s divided up via Franklin’s character traits rather than chronologically. This seems like a mistake until you realise it was exactly what the man himself was like, flitting from one thing to the next with ridiculous ease.
One minute, you’re learning about how he persuaded France to support the US in the Revolutionary War – the arms, supplies and money proved crucial – and the next it’s how he invented the lightning rod to prevent houses being burned down. Shuffle along, and he might be founding the nation’s first fire department. Or reducing the time taken to cross the Atlantic by studying the Gulf Stream. Or creating his own musical instrument, the glass armonica.
Words invented by Benjamin Franklin
The electrical terms ‘battery’, ‘positive charge’ and ‘negative charge’ all come courtesy of Franklin, while his studies also branched into refrigeration, demographics, meteorology and ship design. He also held titles including the first US Postmaster General, Governor of Philadelphia and Ambassador to France.
In between all this are pictures of him chasing whirlwinds on horseback, ledgers of his prodigious, gout-inducing wine-drinking and a painting of him being pulled across a pond by kite, way before windsurfing was invented.
He was not only a man who lived through a remarkable era of sweeping change – he had a significant hand in much of it.
Where is Benjamin Franklin buried?
Therefore, it’s only fitting to head to his final resting place – the Christ Church graveyard a couple of blocks away – to pay your respects. The chances of seeing the likes of Franklin again, in a world where disciplines are increasingly specialised and knowledge is so much further advanced, are pretty slim.
Benjamin Franklin Museum entry fee
The Benjamin Franklin Museum comes under the National Parks Service umbrella. Entrance, at the time of writing, costs $5.
You’ll also learn more about Franklin on the Revolution and the Founders history walking tour.
What else to do in Philadelphia
Historic Philadelphia has a series of absolutely stellar attractions. Independence Hall, the Eastern State Penitentiary and the National Constitution Center are all utterly engrossing.
Other key attractions in Philadelphia include the Museum of the American Revolution, the Independence Seaport Museum and the Penn Museum. For great Philadelphia tour options, try the Old City historic walking tour, a night tour exploring the city’s dark side or an It’s Always Sunny-themed tour of South Philadelphia.
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