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Statue outside College Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
A bronze statue of a seated
Benjamin Franklin
by
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
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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
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]
A copy of the statue was given by the
New England Society
to France in 1906. It is located at the
Trocadero
in
Paris
.
Gallery
[
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]
-
The statue in its original location outside the Main Post Office in
Philadelphia
,
c.
1906
-
The cast in Paris
See also
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References
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External links
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