Public Sans
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Free Franklin Gothic alternatives
Morris Fuller Benton for ATF, 1902, and the American gothic that newspapers and posters have used ever since.
What a Franklin Gothic substitute has to get right
A tall x-height, tight apertures and enough weight to hold a headline. The lighter weights of a grotesque are not the thing people mean when they say Franklin Gothic.
The 2 in this archive
Listed only where the substitution would survive a designer looking at both — a flattering near-match is worse than a short list.
Libre Franklin
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow