Elfreth's Alley
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| Elfreth's Alley Historic District | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark District) | |
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| Location: | Between 2nd and Front Sts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1702 |
| Architect: | Multiple |
| Architectural style(s): | Colonial |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000681[1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
Elfreth's Alley is a residential alley located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country, dating back to the early 1700s, and a National Historic Landmark. The alley is located off Second Street between Arch and Race Streets in Philadelphia's Old City Neighborhood.
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[edit] History
Elfreth's Alley is named for Jeremiah Elfreth, an 18th-century blacksmith and property owner. Among the alley's residents were tradesmen and their families, including shipwrights, silver and pewter smiths, glassblowers, and furniture builders. In the 1770s, one-third of the households were headed by women. The Georgian and Federal-style houses and cobblestone pavement of the alley were common in Philadelphia during this time.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, industry began to change the street. Perhaps the first was a stove factory that in 1868 took its place in a row of residential houses. Eventually, factories surrounded Elfreth's Alley. The city's waterfront was only a few blocks away. Industry changed more than the architecture; successive waves of immigrants, lured by the nearby jobs, moved onto the street; in 1900, the neighborhood was overwhelmingly Irish.
In 1934, the Elfreth's Alley Association (EAA) was founded to preserve the alley's historic structures while interpreting the street's 300-year history. The EAA helped save the street from demolition, and also lobbied the city to restore the alley's name to "Elfreth's Alley"; it had been designated as the 100 block of Cherry Street years before as part of a street-name simplification program.
Present-day Elfreth's Alley is the product of cycles of urban renewal and decay as well as historic preservation efforts. The alley is an endearing tourist attraction and a rare surviving example of 18th-century working-class housing stock. The site stands in sharp contrast to the more frequently preserved grand mansion houses of Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood.
[edit] Fete Day
Once a year (usually the first or second Saturday in June), Elfreth's Alley celebrates "Fete Day," on which most of the street's private residences are opened to the public. The events are accompanied by historic reenactments and other festivities. Every year the Brandywine Heights High School Band and their Fife & Drum Corps perform 18th-century fife tunes as they parade through the alley. Fete Day, also called Elfreth's Alley Day, is organized by the Elfreth's Alley Association, which uses the proceeds from ticket sales to support upkeep and restoration of older homes.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
[edit] External links
- Elfreth's Alley Association
- Jeremiah Elfreth House, 126 Elfreth's Alley, photographs from the Library of Congress
- Mid-20th Century drawings of Elfreth's Alley homes, also from the Library of Congress
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