Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia

 Ah, Ben!  He was but a young man when he moved to Philly.  He left a huge mark on our country, but it's nothing compared with the mark he left on Philadelphia!

At the age of 12, Ben was apprenticed to his older brother who owned a print shop.  At 15, Ben authored the "Silence Dogood" letters to the editor of his brother's newspaper.  (Remember the movie, "National Treasure.")  At 17, Ben abandoned his apprenticeship due to frequent beatings by his brother and the general lack of appreciate for his abilities and work ethic by his bro.  Ben hopped a ship from Boston to New York, moseyed across New Jersey and eventually caught a boat to Philadelphia.

He arrived virtually penniless, was taken in by the family of his future wife, found work in a print shop and ultimately, believing he was a better printer than the owner, opened his own business.  He was noticed for his hard work, excellent skills and diligence and began getting bigger and better contracts.  He began to franchise his printing company into other cities. (Think McDonald's or Starbucks.)

The rest, as they say, is history.

Franklin became our first Postmaster General and made it PROFITABLE!  (Now HE might be worth cloning for that reason alone...)

You can go into this location above and they will hand-stamp your postcard, letter, or parcel with Ben Franklin's signature.  That's pretty cool.  Notice the tunnel to the right side of the picture.  This leads back into the courtyard of the last piece of property Franklin owned.

Imagine his carriage coming and going through here carrying him about his many duties and business.  Living to the very ancient age of 84 (Thirty-five was considered old age back then) he became unable to walk and had to be carried in a chair contraption by hired men from house to carriage and carriage to offices.

Throughout his life, if Franklin realized a need he put all of his energies into filling that need:  the first library company, the first fire insurance company, Union Fire (if you bought a policy you were given the bonus of a "fire-extinguisher" - two buckets), organized night watchmen (more for fire warning than crime) which evolved into the Philadelphia police department, he invented the lightening rod to prevent house fires, promoted hatches in roofs so people could climb out and put out roof fires before they spread, invented the Franklin stove and refused to patent it so that everyone would have access to the "technology," established the Philosophical Society, set up university scholarships...  If it was too big a job for one man, like setting up healthcare facilities that evolved into the Pennsylvania Hospital, Franklin brought people together to fill needs corporately.

Amazingly, his scholarship fund is still active today, the Philosophical Society still exists, the hospital is still there, and his fire insurance company is still selling policies.  Some of you might recognize the insurance logo of four hands clasping each others wrists:

Just as the owners of Jefferson's rooms in Philadelphia were allowed to tear down that building, so, too, was Franklin's last home allowed to be torn down.  (WHO WOULD BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO DO THAT?!  Oh.  Family.  Figures.)  So, the National Park Service did something unique here.  They simply built a framework of steel, known as the Ghost House, to show size and location of Franklin's final home.  There are viewing kiosks to underground museums, too.  The second framework is the home he built for his illegitimate son?  or his nephew?  (senior moment) whom he set up (surprise!) a print shop business for.

20,000 people attended Benjamin Franklin's funeral.  That's a lot of people for today, but this was in 1790!  Pretty neat guy.