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While the view from Steinbeck’s win-  ous tax levied on the colonies, is seen as
          dow certainly is stunning, I had already   one of his finest moments.
          visited these places. On this trip, I
          wanted to pursue a different tourist ex-  With the prospect of revolution, and
          cursion, one that followed in the foot-  growing hostility in Britain toward him
          steps of fellow Americans — including   and the colonies, Franklin returned
          Benjamin Franklin, Joseph P. Kennedy,   to Philadelphia in 1775, when he was
          Dwight D. Eisenhower, Wallis Warfield   appointed a delegate to the Second
          Simpson — who had resided in London   Continental Congress.
          for key periods of their lives.
                                             Several generations later, perhaps
          That’s a pretty big task. So where to   no one captured the mood of Lon-
          start on my quest?                 don during World War II better than
                                             Edward R. Murrow, the veteran CBS
          My ace card was an invaluable refer-  News broadcaster. For most of the war,
          ence, published in 1986, “Americans in   Murrow and his wife, Janet, lived in
          London,” by Brian N. Morton. The book   a five-room flat on the second floor of
          offers enlightening vignettes on a vari-  Weymouth House, 84 Hallam St. Today,
          ety of American Londoners. A series of   a blue plaque marks the building.
          maps show where they once had lived.
          As backup, I had a purchased a more   Murrow remarked that his home was
          detailed London street guide.      “500 paces” from the nearby BBC head-
                                             quarters on Portland Place, from which
          Many American luminaries lived just   he broadcast his famous radio reports
          off the main thoroughfares of central   that opened with the dramatic phrase,
          London that are tourist meccas, and   “This (pause) is London.” He covered 57
          the homes of the more prominent    consecutive nights of Luftwaffe attacks
          figures have been marked with the   on the city from Sept. 7 to Nov. 3, 1940.
          historically designated blue plaques on   It was from here that Murrow made
          their facades.                     one of his most famous broadcasts,
                                             standing on the rooftop describing a
          And so it was with Benjamin Franklin,   bombing raid on the city.
          whose London home is a brief walk
          from Trafalgar Square. The townhouse   After his broadcasts, he’d make his way
          at 36 Craven St. today is the Benjamin   through the blacked-out city back home
          Franklin House museum, with inter-  — the 500 paces — where he’d often be
          esting presentations on the American   joined by other correspondents.
          statesman’s life in London. When he
          arrived in 1757 with his son William   “With a fire burning, coffee on the
          on Craven Street, according to author   stove, sandwiches in the kitchen and
          Morton, little did he realize that he   a bottle of scotch, as London awak-
          would live on this street in two periods   ened to another gray morning, a
          for nearly 16 years, in two different   poker game would usually be ending,”
          houses run by the same landlady, the   Morton writes. Among those Murrow
          widow Margaret Stevenson. All the   entertained at this flat were American
          time, Franklin’s wife and other children   ambassador John Winant, Eleanor
          remained in Philadelphia.          Roosevelt, Clark Gable, and prominent
                                             British political figures.
          In London, Franklin lived a comfort-
          able life among scientists, politicians   I didn’t have far to go on the second day
          and philosophers, and was known for   of my adventure. Leaving the Athenae-
          his eccentricities. Each day, he’d throw   um Hotel, I headed a few blocks north
          open the windows to take his tonic   to Grosvenor Square. No place in Lon-
          bath — exposing himself to the cold   don has more apparent ties to Ameri-
          air in the nude for up to an hour while   cans than the immediate area around
          reading or writing.                this leafy refuge in posh Mayfair.

          Franklin at first represented the British   The square at one time was called Eisen-
          colony of Pennsylvania, but became a   howerplatz or Little America because
          de facto ambassador or representative   it was from buildings facing the square
          for all the American colonies. As a   that much of the American and Allied   Many famous American’s have made their mark on
          statesman, his eloquent opposition in   planning during World War II took   London including Ben Franklin, Glenn Miller, Edward
          Parliament to the Stamp Act, an oner-  place under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhow-  R.  Murrow and John Steinbeck as shown clockwise.


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