The electronic absorption spectrum of the benzyl radical (C6H5CH2.) has been measured in the region of the vibrationally mixed 1(2)A(2)-2(2)B(1) excited states near 450 nm by cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) in 20 Torr of argon or nitrogen diluents at 298 K. The absorption cross section was determined from the CRDS absorption and the rates of radical-radical cross reactions. At 447.7 mn, sigma(benzyl) = (2.2 +/- 0.8) x 10(-18) cm(2) molecule(-1) (base e). The rate constant for the reaction of benzyl radicals with Cl atoms was derived during the modeling: k(C6H5CH2 + Cl) = (2.5 +/- 1.0) x 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). Time-dependent density functional theory calculations support the interpretation of the absorption spectrum of the benzyl radical.