The space will be known as the Treasures of the Franklin Institute Gallery, featuring many objects never on public view before, including such items as Benjamin Franklin’s glass armonica, an early film projector, airfoil models made by the Wright Brothers, lantern slides of Marie Curie’s work with radium and other objects detailing nearly three centuries of technology and innovations. The new exhibit is expected to open in time for the 200th anniversary of the Franklin Institute in 2024.
The grant is the largest gift awarded by the trust, which has a long history of generosity to the museum. That generosity includes the donation of 4-10-2 No. 60000 to the museum in 1933 by Samuel M. Vauclain, then president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The Hamilton family are descendants of Vauclain.
No. 60000 is a three-cylinder 4-10-2 equipped with a water-tube boiler. It was built as a demonstrator of innovative locomotive technology and traveled to many railroads around the country before being placed in the museum.
“For decades, the Baldwin 60000 has been a piece of our family’s history, a treasure for tens of thousands of visitors to The Franklin Institute, and a symbol of innovation and technological advancement,” says S. Matthews V. Hamilton of the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust. “We look forward to the newly imagined gallery, filled with technology both past and present to spark curiosity and learning for generations to come.”
As part of this project, the floor surrounding the 350-ton No. 60000 will be cut away to reveal the steel and concrete bridge structure that supports the locomotive. The cutaway floor will reveal the lower-level archival collections area.
