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This museum allows visitors to learn about Benjamin Franklin through his life-long interests in science,
business, philanthropy, and politics. See historical objects, like a fossilized mastodon tooth and a family
Bible. Animated videos and computer interactives engage visitors with stories of Franklin’s inventions
and community improvements. Fee applies. Reservations for school groups are recommended; fee
waivers may be available.
Franklin Court Printing Office
320 Market Street
There were no computers in Benjamin Franklin’s day. Books, newspapers, and even paper money were
printed on a printing press. Printers spelled out everything with lead letters, putting them in one at a
time, upside down, whereas pictures were made by carving images into a block of wood. Printers inked
the lead type and wood cuts, and then pressed them against paper, printing one sheet at a time.
Welcome Park
2nd Street, between Chestnut and Walnut Streets
This small outdoor park is the place to learn about William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania.
Embedded in the ground is a giant map of the original street grid for Philadelphia, with trees marking
the original squares. A small scale replica of the City Hall statue of William Penn sits in the middle of this
urban space while a biographical timeline wraps around the two perimeter walls.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
3rd and Pine Streets
Open April-October
This house is a national memorial to an international champion of human freedom. Thaddeus
Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer and volunteer in the American Revolution, designed and
supervised the construction of fortifications for the Continental Army, including those at West Point. He
designed a huge chain that stretched across the Hudson River, preventing British ships from entering the
area. He later led an unsuccessful uprising in Poland against the Russian occupation.
Christ Church
2nd and Church Streets
Constructed in 1744, the church features many elements of classic Georgian architecture, including a
Palladian window. The steeple, added ten years later and funded through the sale of lottery tickets in
Benjamin Franklin’s printing office, was easily recognizable from all of colonial Philadelphia. George
Washington attended services here, as did members of Franklin’s family. Don’t miss the bishop’s mitre
(hat) on the weathervane!
Christ Church Burial Ground
5th and Arch Streets
This is the final resting place of some of the nation’s most prominent founders, including Benjamin
Franklin. There are about 1,400 markers in the burial ground; another 5,000 have eroded and
disappeared through time. Franklin’s gravestone now has a significant crack caused by weather