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Elfreth's Alley in the Old City district of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, USA.
Dating to 1703 the street has 32 houses, built between then and 1836. The Elfreth's Alley Museum is located at 124 and 126.
It is named after 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. During 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. The houses are typically small, and many are uniquely Philadelphian Trinity houses.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, industry began to change the street. 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 1934, the Elfreth's Alley Association was founded to preserve the alley's historic structures while interpreting the street's history. They helped save the street from demolition.
Elfreth's Alley is today the product of cycles of urban renewal and decay, and historic preservation efforts. The alley is a tourist attraction and a Being a rare surviving example of 18th-century working-class housing stock it stands in sharp contrast to the more frequently preserved grand mansion houses of Philadelphia's Society Hill neighbourhood.
Information Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfreth%27s_Alley
48276
Elfreth's Alley in the Old City district of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, USA.
Dating to 1703 the street has 32 houses, built between then and 1836. The Elfreth's Alley Museum is located at 124 and 126.
It is named after 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. During 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. The houses are typically small, and many are uniquely Philadelphian Trinity houses.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, industry began to change the street. 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 1934, the Elfreth's Alley Association was founded to preserve the alley's historic structures while interpreting the street's history. They helped save the street from demolition.
Elfreth's Alley is today the product of cycles of urban renewal and decay, and historic preservation efforts. The alley is a tourist attraction and a Being a rare surviving example of 18th-century working-class housing stock it stands in sharp contrast to the more frequently preserved grand mansion houses of Philadelphia's Society Hill neighbourhood.
Information Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfreth%27s_Alley