Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, 1987, Bronze
George Lundeen (American, born 1948)
#1987.0010.0001
Gross Area (sq. ft.): 49" x 71" x 42"
[metaslider id=1130]This bronze sculpture of Benjamin Franklin was designed by George Lundeen and donated by the Class of 1962 during their 25th reunion. You may recognize Ben on the Bench before, as he’s been on Philadelphia travel guides, University brochures, Good Morning America, and other publications and TV shows. In 2003, Hilary Clinton stopped by and posed with him, too. It’s also tradition that before commencement every year, the President of the University and the honorary degree recipients visit Ben on the Bench to say hello and take their pictures with him. If you look carefully, you can see that he’s reading a copy of the Pennsylvania Gazette, the newspaper he owned and published—which was, for a time, was the most successful newspaper in all of the colonies. Today, it is the name of Penn’s Alumni Association magazine.
Location: 37th & Locust Walk, South East Corner, Philadelphia PA
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