Old City in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Franklin's Market Street Houses
Independence National Historical Park
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
These buildings are the last remaining structures owned by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. Franklin built numbers 316, 318, and 322 Market Street in the late 1780s as rental properties. The construction also created an arched carriageway to enter Franklin Court.
In the 1800s, later owners significantly altered the properties. A study in the 1950s found that the original interior walls remained largely intact. Preservationists from Independence National Historical Park restored the exteriors of the buildings in the 1970s and preserved the original interiors and the carriageway you see before you today.
[Captions:]
The Market Street Houses as they appeared in 1950. The arched carriageway is the same used by Benjamin Franklin to access his home in Franklin Court.
Before the buildings could be restored, the alterations from the 1800s had to be removed.
By 1975, exterior restoration work on the Market Street Houses was nearly complete. A restored Franklin Court opened to the public in time for the Bicentennial in 1976.
Erected 2023 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
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Location. 39° 57.01′ N, 75° 8.782′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Old City. It is on Market Street (County Road 2004) just east of South 4th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 314 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19106, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Franklin Court & Museum / Franklin Court Market Street Houses (here, next to this marker); Franklin Court (a
Credits. This page was last revised on July 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 4, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 514 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 4, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
