The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial is located in our rotunda. The centerpiece of the memorial is a dramatic 20-foot high marble statue of Benjamin Franklin. Sculpted by James Earle Fraser, the statue weighs 30 tons and sits on a 92-ton pedestal of white Seravezza marble. Originally opened in 1938, the rotunda was designed by architect John T. Windrim and modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. It measures 82 feet in length, width, and height. The domed ceiling is self-supporting and weighs 1600 tons. The floors, walls, columns, pilasters, and cornices are made of rare marbles from Portugal, Italy, and France.
The Memorial is open to the public at all times when The Franklin Institute is open and no admission fee is required. Make time to be inside the Memorial for Benjamin Franklin Forever, a 3.5-minute multimedia show which demonstrates Benjamin Franklin’s profound impact on the world as a premiere international citizen, statesman, civic leader, and scientist.
