Benjamin Franklin - Springfield, IL
Posted by: adgorn
N 39° 47.594 W 089° 38.867
16S E 273290 N 4408162
Seated figure of Benjamin Franklin with his proper right hand resting on his stomach and his proper left hand resting on his proper right shoulder.
Waymark Code: WMJEX7
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/09/2013
Views: 5
More from the Smithsonian site:
"His legs are apart and his feet are firmly on the ground. He is draped with a cloth that hangs over the back of his chair.
Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 5 ft.; Base: approx. 6 x 19 x 19 ft.
Inscription: (Bottom of sculpture proper left side:) James Earle Fraser/Sculptor.1949 (Back of sculpture bottom:) Capital Products Inc./L.I.C. N.Y. (Base front:) BENJAMIN FRANKLIN/ PRINTER INVENTOR/STATESMAN/PHILOSOPHER signed Founder's mark appears.
Inscription on the building directly behind the sculpture reads: GOD GRANT THAT NOT/ONLY THE LOVE OF/LIBERTY BUT A/THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE/OF THE RIGHTS OF/MAN MAY PERVADE/ALL THE NATIONS OF/THE EARTH SO THAT/A PHILOSOPHER MAY SET/HIS FOOT ANYWHERE AND/SAY THIS IS MY COUNTRY/ - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN."
PHYSICAL LOCATION: In front of the former Franklin Life Insurance Company (now housing the Illinois State Police), approx 815 S. 6th Ave., across from Cathedral, Springfield, Illinois 62703
From wikipedia:
"Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass 'armonica'. He facilitated many civic organizations, including a fire department and a university."
Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.