Hidden Homage
A small, dark plaque pinpoints
Ben Franklin‘s first print shop
on Philadelphia’s Market Street
This site of Ben Franklin’s first Philadelphia printing shop near 2nd and Market Street is marked by a 1961 plaque from Sigma Delta Chi, the national professional journalistic society. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of Real Philly History, Real Fast.
I’m willing to bet few Philly residents or tourists ever notice this bronze plaque honoring Ben Franklin near 2nd and Market Street in Philadelphia.
But it’s important for several reasons.
First, that Sigma Delta Chi, now known as the Society of Professional Journalists, placed it here in 1961 to honor Philadelphia’s most accomplished citizen ever.
Second, for the sentiments Franklin expressed:
“When men differ in opinion, both sides ought to have the advantage of being heard by the public.”
Even today, I don’t think many Americans will quibble with the sentiment of a free American press, which Sigma Delta Chi hails in its plaque copy.
A Sept. 29, 1961 New York Times story on the plaque’s dedication said the bronze plaque was placed “at the site where he (Franklin) published The Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanac.”
The Times’ story also described the plaque as being “sealed in concrete near the curbline at 139 Market Street.”
Low, dark and hard to read
While I appreciate the sentiment and purpose of the plaque, I’ll never understand why it was placed so low to the ground and made so hard to read. I think Sigma Delta Chi really missed the mark here.
In fact, I never even noticed the plaque until Charlie Krueger, a fellow certified member of the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides and a Volunteer-In-Park (or VIP) at Independence National Historical Park, pointed it out to me.
Charlie knows just about every marker and building in center city Philadelphia, so it’s no surprise he knew about this one. I sure didn’t.
This plaque is just about a block away from Franklin Court at 322 Market Street, where Franklin’s family lived for many years.
If you can read this plaque copy, you have very good eyes. And you have to bend quite low to do so.
Fast Facts
Location: NE corner of Market Street at Second Street under the SEPTA station overhang. Franklin published The Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richards’s Almanac from this printing shop.
Marker By: Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists, 1961.
Date Dedicated: Sept. 29, 1961
Claim to Fame: Here on June 10, 1731, Franklin stated his insistence on a free American press: “When men differ in opinion, both sides ought equally to have the advantage of being heard by the public,” he said. A free American press is just as important today.
Some Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_apology.html
http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/benjamin-franklin-printer/
https://www.abaa.org/members-articles/benjamin-franklins-job-printing
https://almanac.upenn.edu/articles/benjamin-franklin-a-champion-of-free-press-and-free-speech