The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial , located in the rotunda of the Franklin Institute science museum in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , features a large statue of a seated Benjamin Franklin , American writer, inventor, statesman, and Founding Father . The 20-foot (6.1 m)-tall memorial was sculpted by James Earle Fraser between 1932 and 1938 and dedicated in 1938.
22-733: With a weight of 30 short tons (27 t) the statue rests on a 92-short-ton (83 t) pedestal of white Seravezza marble. It is the focal piece of the Memorial Hall of the Franklin Institute, which was designed by John Windrim and modeled after the Roman Pantheon . The statue and Memorial Hall were designated as the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in 1972. It is the primary location memorializing Benjamin Franklin in
44-409: A program that introduces Franklin as a curious tinkerer, and demonstrates his profound impact on the world as a premiere international citizen, statesman, civic leader, and scientist. The refurbishment also included improved acoustics, state-of-the-art LED lighting upgrades, and restoration and re-gilding of the oculus to its original brilliance. Throughout the day, quotes from Franklin are projected onto
66-492: Is no longer rural. West Hunting Park Avenue, a major artery, is just beyond the churchyard's south wall, and industrial buildings lie to the west. Now, however, the shady and quiet churchyard is considered an urban oasis. The Wanamaker Memorial Bell Tower and mausoleum (1908), designed by John T. Windrim , houses a set of J.C. Deagan, Inc. tower chimes and a chime of bells by the McShane foundry. A parish hall, which later housed
88-822: The Bell Telephone Company and more than thirty for the Philadelphia Electric Company , including the massive Chester Waterside Station in Chester, Pennsylvania along the Delaware River . For John Wanamaker , he designed the Wanamaker Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia (1903), and "Lindenhurst" (1911), Wanamaker's mansion in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania . For son Rodman Wanamaker , he designed
110-522: The National Register of Historic Places influenced by St. James' design include All Saint's Memorial Church (Navesink, New Jersey) (designed by Richard Upjohn first President of the American Institute of Architects ) and St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Neligh, Nebraska) . Set on the edge of a hill, north of Mount Vernon Cemetery and east of Laurel Hill Cemetery , the setting for the church
132-682: The Provident Trust Co., the Philadelphia Electric Company and the Susquehanna Power Company. Windrim's papers are at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia . Church of St. James the Less, Philadelphia The Church of St. James the Less is a historic Episcopal church in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , that was architecturally influential. As St. James-the-Less Episcopal Church , it
154-547: The U.S. Congress designated the national memorial on October 25, 1972 ( Pub. L. 92–551 ). Unlike most national memorials, the statue is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The national memorial is an affiliated area of the National Park Service , assigned to Independence National Historical Park through a Memorandum of Agreement entered into on November 6, 1973. Under terms of
176-1086: The Wanamaker Memorial Bell Tower and Mausoleum (1908) at the Church of St. James the Less . For the Wanamaker Store , he designed the Lincoln-Liberty Building (PNB Building) (1930–31). Windrim was a member of the AIA, the Architectural League of New York , the Philadelphia Art Club , the American Institute of Banking and the Union League . He was the President of the Evening Telegraph Co. for two years and served as Director of
198-636: The agreement, the Institute owns and maintains the publicly accessible memorial, and the Park Service includes the memorial in official publications and otherwise cooperates with the Institute in all appropriate and mutually agreeable ways on behalf of the memorial. Public Law 109-153 (December 30, 2005) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make available to the Institute up to $ 10,000,000 in matching grants for
220-637: The controversy, the parish school closed circa 2006. As part of its mandate, Saint Mark's Church began a fundraising effort to open a new parish school to serve this local community. In 2009 and 2010, the St. Mark's congregation (together with St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac, Maryland) sponsored Vacation Bible School at the historic church school. The following fall, a successful after-school program began, staff were hired, and renovations began. In September 2011, Saint James School, covering grades five to eight, opened. It
242-656: The diocese initiated litigation to seize its property and two years later the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ruled that the attempted merger was ultra vires and invalid. The breakaway congregation lost two subsequent appeals, first to Commonwealth Court and then to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania . After the Supreme Court's decision, the Diocese assumed control of the St. James property. In 2008,
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#1732852056805264-698: The diocese's Standing Committee voted to allow historic St. Mark's Church in Philadelphia's center city neighborhood to adopt the Church of St. James the Less as a mission. Weekly celebration of Mass resumed on Sundays at 5:00 pm. The breakaway congregation largely entered the Roman Catholic Church under the provision of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter established by Pope Benedict. During
286-458: The early 20th century. The building was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. The National Park Service called it "the first example of the pure English Parish church style in America, and one of the best examples of a 19th-century American Gothic church for its coherence and authenticity of design. Its influence on
308-528: The group advocated combining the piety of gothic architecture with church reform associated with the Oxford Movement . It was inadvertently sent measured drawings prepared by English architect George Gordon Place for St. Michael's Church in Longstanton , Cambridgeshire , built circa 1230, which were then followed in every detail under the supervision of architect John E. Carver. Later American churches on
330-594: The major architects of the Gothic Revival in the United States was profound." The Gothic architecture was nearly accidental. The congregation applied to the Cambridge Camden Society , which in 1841 and 1844 had published a widely circulated pamphlet on modern church design, for a set of approved plans. Originally an organization formed by Cambridge University students interested in gothic architecture,
352-496: The nearby industrial neighborhood now known as Allegheny West . The parish was traditionally Tractarian or High Church in churchmanship orientation. It did not install gas lighting in 1869, but did allow oil lamps to replace the original candles circa 1885. Further modernization occurred in the early 20th century, including not only the tower and chimes (dedicated 1910) but also electric lighting and central heat circa 1913. Documents exist concerning its Anglo-Catholic practices in
374-454: The parish school, was built on the opposite side of West Clearfield Street. The congregation of St. James the Less began withholding diocesan payments in protest over the ordination of women. After the bishop refused to renew the preaching license of assistant the Rev. Arthur Willis in 1999, the congregation attempted to form a nonprofit corporation and transfer the church property into it. In 2001,
396-611: The rehabilitation of the memorial and for the development of related exhibits. This appropriation commemorates the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth on January 17, 1706. In 2008, the Memorial underwent a $ 3.8 million restoration, which included installation of a multi-media presentation about Philadelphia's most famous citizen, now featured in the 3½-minute show "Benjamin Franklin Forever". The memorial's new digital projection, theatrical lighting, and audio effects are fully utilized in
418-508: The walls, and graphic panels highlighting his life and accomplishments provide visitors with a still greater appreciation of this Founding Father. Admission to the National Memorial is free. The memorial appears in the 2004 film National Treasure . John T. Windrim John Torrey Windrim (February 14, 1866 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania – June 27, 1934 in Devon, Pennsylvania )
440-559: Was admitted to the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania on 22 May 1846 and on 26 September 1846, took the corporate name of "Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James the Less." The new congregation acquired land from nearby Laurel Hill Cemetery and wanted to build a church that could serve not only the wealthy families with mansions overlooking the Schuylkill River or on Hunting Park Avenue , but also working-class people of
462-512: Was an American architect . His long time chief designer was W. R. Morton Keast . He trained in the office of his father, architect James H. Windrim . Windrim was known for the classical revival style known as Beaux Arts . He was elected to the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1901, and became a Fellow of the Institute in 1926. He practiced for over forty years. He designed more than sixty buildings for
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#1732852056805484-564: Was designated a National Historic Landmark for its Gothic Revival architecture , which influenced a generation of subsequent churches. Philanthropist and merchant Robert Ralston wanted to found a church near his land on Ridge Road, but died shortly before this church's founding. His friend Samuel Jarvis had helped found the General Theological Seminary in New York and knew about the Cambridge Camden Society . This congregation
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