| Benjamin Franklin | |
|---|---|
 The statue in 2007 | |
 | |
| Artist | Unknown |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Sculpture: Bronze Base: Granite |
| Subject | Benjamin Franklin |
| Location | San Francisco, California, United States |
| 37°48′03″N 122°24′36″W / 37.80082°N 122.41000°W | |
Benjamin Franklin – also known as the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Benjamin Franklin Statue and Cogswell Historical Monument[1] – is an outdoor sculpture in Washington Square, San Francisco, California.[2]
The smaller-than-life-size bronze statue of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, by an unknown sculptor, stands upon an ornate granite base, that contains a time capsule. There are inscriptions on all four sides of the base. Spigots once dispensed drinking water into three stone basins. The spigots have been removed.
Created as a Temperance fountain by crusader Henry D. Cogswell, the monument was originally installed at Kearny and Market Streets in 1879. In 1904, it was relocated to Washington Square.[3]
In 1979, 100 years after its creation, a time capsule that was hidden in the statue's base was removed and opened, and contained Cogswell's personal papers. A new time capsule, to be opened in 2079, was installed.[4]
The statue is visible behind Richard Brautigan and Michaela Le Grand on the original cover of Brautigan's 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America.
