Have you ever asked yourself where the visionary founder of our fine university lived during his time in Philadelphia? The city sought to answer that same question in the 1970s in preparation for the country's bicentennial.
There was only one problem: all visual records of Ben Franklin's house had been lost over a century beforehand. Apparently Franklin wasn’t important enough to warrant the attention of the city’s housing archives. The city, however, would not be stopped by the misplacing of a few sketches and artist renditions. It decided to invent its own structure, what would become Ben’s “ghost” house.
Pulling in world-renowned architects, the city modeled Franklin Court on textual documents and pictures from normal 18th century houses. Original sketches and models from the building process are now on display at the Kroiz Gallery, located on the lower level of the Fisher Fine Arts Building.
Faculty, students and staff can see how Mr. Franklin’s house was recreated into a three-story ghost structure that includes 10 rooms, a British punch bowl and other archeological artifacts.
