complexion. But there are plenty of young adults in Philadelphia today who can remember donating their pennies to the cause", the Inquirer wrote. Over a quarter-century, the work deteriorated, "began to lean precariously and became a hazard to pedestrians." Firefighters from the firehouse next door eventually tied ropes around the sculpture to keep it from toppling over. In August 1996, it was removed and placed in a municipal warehouse in South Philadelphia. City officials contemplated restoring it, but the cost, estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, was deemed prohibitive. "I've done a lot of things for this city, but that was my favorite", Beauchamp said. The sculpture was replaced in October 2007 by Keys To Community, a bronze sculpture by James Peniston, who echoed Beauchamp's work by sculpting a bust of Franklin and covering it with casts of keys collected from neighborhood schoolchildren. Family Beauchamp's wife of 64 years, Elizabeth Sarah "Betty" Beauchamp, died January 9, 1999, of leukemia. She had helped create many of his public art works. An obituary noted: In her earlier years, the former Elizabeth Brown worked for the Curtis Publishing Co. in the subscription department. Because the company would not employ married women, she and her future husband drove about 100 miles to Pottsville to be married. She kept her name out of the license columns of the Philadelphia newspapers and kept her marital status secret until she left Curtis to raise a family. The Beauchamps had two sons, Ronald and Roy; and a daughter, Irene B. Brooks. External links Photo of Penny Franklin sculpture, May 11, 1977, PhillyHistory.org. Location of Whispering Bells of Freedom: Beauchamp's entry at Philadelphia Public Art@philart.net. "An Artist Whose Canvas Is The City For Decades, Reggie Beauchamp Has Made His Mark.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 12, 1993. References 1910 births 2000 deaths Modern sculptors Artists from Philadelphia People from Rensselaer, New York 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from Pennsylvania