American founding father Benjamin Franklin lived at 36 Craven Street, just off Trafalgar Square, for 16 years. © Benjamin Franklin Trust.

The London home of the 18th century US statesman Benjamin Franklin will open to the public for the first time on January 17 2006.

Built around 1730 the house at 36 Craven Street will be, according to the organisation behind it, “a dynamic museum and educational facility”.

The opening celebration is timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of Franklin’s birth, explained Dr. Marcia Balisciano, its director.

Some consider Franklin the father of electricity but this scientist, diplomat, philosopher and inventor is perhaps better known as a galvanising force in the birth of the United States.

The Georgian building is a site recognised by the US-based Tercentenary Committee (celebrating the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth in 2006) established by President George Bush. © Benjamin Franklin Trust.

According to the Friends of Benjamin Franklin Trust, which was given the house in the 1970s by British Rail, it served as the first de facto American embassy. It was also the site of Franklin’s historic meeting with William Pitt the Elder on the eve of the American Revolution.

Balisciano commented: “It is the most important Anglo-American site on the British side of the pond. Franklin was the father of the so-called special relationship between the USA and the UK.”

The Grade I listed building is architecturally significant, and retains most of its original features, but the restoration work has been extensive, explained Balisciano.

She continued: “We did some work initially to show the project was viable, and have since done major work to the exterior and the interior, which has 14 fireplaces alone.”

Benjamin Franklin is the only statesman to have signed all four documents that created a new nation: The Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris establishing peace with Britain (1783) and The Constitution (1787). © Benjamin Franklin Trust.

After the exterior had been stabilised, the ground and first floors were tackled.

Ceilings, made with plaster prepared in the 18th century style with lime and hair, take the place of open rafters, and carpenters are reassembling wall panels for the top floors, piecing them back together like a Georgian jigsaw puzzle.

The work got off the ground with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £1.5 million.

Further sums needed to start the final phase of the project were made up of contributions from a number of sources, including £150,000 from a single US donor and a low, fixed interest loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund.

Work to create the new museum has see a major restoration operation at the house, which has brought to life many of the original features including the central staircase, 18th century paneling, stoves, windows and fittings. © Benjamin Franklin Trust.

The plan is to use the historic rooms to stage a drama of Franklin's almost 16 years in London. Visitors will be welcomed by an actor, who will give an historical guide around the individually themed rooms.

Sound and lighting effects will portray the statesman’s life and times while school visitors will be able to explore a science centre, featuring hands-on experimentation with Franklin's London scientific discoveries. A scholarship centre will give researchers pre-arranged access to Franklin’s papers.

The trustees are hoping to attract a large number of visitors and there will be an entry charge: “While Americans will be an important segment of the visitor population,” said Balisciano, “the house will be of interest to everyone.”

Veronica Cowan is a freelance journalist.