Explore the Location and design of this artwork.
The statue of Benjamin Franklin is located in front of the Old Post Office at the intersection of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. It was originally sited two blocks east across the street from The Washington Post offices, but was moved to its present location in 1980, based on the design plan of the city's Pennsylvania Development Corporation. The statue is made of Carrara marble and is approximately 8-feet tall (2.4 m). The base is Quincy granite and measures 5.5 feet wide (1.7 m). The pedestal and statue are on a raised platform made of granite. When the statue was moved in 1982, Aleksandra Kasuba was chosen to design the platform. In addition to the platform, she designed a multicolor granite and brick pavement surrounding the statue that was meant to recall the Old Post Office interior. The base and platform measures 11-feet tall (3.4 m).The full-length statue of Franklin depicts him as a diplomat in the court of Louis XVI when the U.S. signed its first treaty with a foreign power. His right arm is raised and he's holding papers or diplomatic documents with his left hand. Behind his right foot are three books, two closed and one open.Just under the statue is the inscription:
FRANKLINBelow that, each side of the base is inscribed with one word describing Franklin:
PRINTER
PHILANTHROPIST
PATRIOT
PHILOSOPHER.
On the second level of the base is inscribed:
PRESENTED TO THE NATIONAL CAPITAL/ BY /STILSON HUTCHINS.A bronze plaque is on the third level of the base. Its inscription is:
ERECTED JANUARY 17TH, 1889ERNST PLASSMAN, DESIGNER
JACQUES JOUVENAL, SCULPTOR
J. F. MANNING, DESIGNER OF PEDESTALCOMMISSIONERS OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
W. B. WEBB, S .E. WHEATLEY, C. W. RAYMOND
Carrara marble The Washington Post Washington, D.C. Old Post Office Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Avenue Aleksandra Kasuba NW Louis XVI