THINK TANK: Franklin held salons in his London town house
Compared to the aristocratic homes of other U.S. founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin's house at 36 Craven Street in London is downright modest. George Washington inhabited a grand estate at Mount Vernon, Virginia, and Thomas Jefferson built Monticello, an elegant mansion, in the same state. But for 15 years, Franklin was a tenant in a simple four-
story Georgian brick row house on a street off the Strand near Trafalgar Square. The house's interior is handsome but spare, reflecting the thrifty nature of the man who popularized the proverb, "A penny saved is a penny earned." On Jan. 17, the...
