Franklin Maps

Awesome map store!
I have been coming to this store since I was a kid. While not the biggest, though close, this is one of the best map stores I have ever been in. They have a huge selection of maps for places around the world. And not just one choice, but several different ones. It is nice to be able to check them out before buying if you plan on using them for a trip. They also have a massive selection of local maps, some with excruciating detail. They make custom maps too, which I have used as art pieces.
While the shopping is great, this store is also almost like a museum. You can spend days looking and learning.
Great service too.

A big selection, but the service left much to be desired. Small wonder the Internet is hammering retail.

Franklin Maps is a store that does what it’s name says — it sells (and prints) maps. Lots of maps. More maps than I’ve ever seen in one place. Maps of places I’ve never heard of.
The store itself is a nondescript 1 story building set back a bit on Henderson Road. It shares its’s parking lot with an automatic car wash. When you approach the store, you feel more like you’re walking into an office building, however very quickly you realize this store is like the TARDIS — it’s way bigger on the inside.
In addition to maps, they have globes and also a decent selection of books on travel (Frommer’s, Frodor’s, Wild Planet, etc.) and books on learning or translating a foreign language. There are also educational materials aimed at the under 12 set including these cool bumpy molded plastic maps of the world.
What I found most interesting where their collection of antique maps — maps of places drawn at different points in history. In 1702, Philly was a tiny village on the Delaware, people. It was also fun to see the US in, say, 1857, when large swaths of what is now part of the US belonged to France and Mexico. You can even find railroad maps of local towns in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which also were super cool.
Staff were friendly and unobtrusive, if you asked them a question or for help they gladly did, including getting into a decent discussion with a group of map lovers who wanted to discuss the difference between USGS and National Geographic map styles. I didn’t know there were differences, and they didn’t mind me listening in.
Need a map? This is the place to go. Because if they don’t have it, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t exist.