Elfreth's Alley - A Street Where People Still Live

A stop on Philadelphia Independence Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Step into this narrow cobblestone lane and you're walking down what's often called the nation's oldest continuously inhabited residential street. People have lived here since the early 1700s.

The alley takes its name from Jeremiah Elfreth, an 18th-century blacksmith who owned property here. The 32 houses were built between the 1720s and the 1830s, and they were homes for working people: shipwrights, glassblowers, tailors and other craftspeople, many of them renting. Later, immigrants from Ireland, Germany and elsewhere crowded into the same small rooms.

That's what makes this street special. The big buildings you've seen tell the story of the founders, but Elfreth's Alley shows where ordinary Philadelphians lived and worked.

Remember that these are private homes, so keep your voice down and stay off the steps. The small museum in two of the houses tells the story of the families who lived here.

Getting here: Walk north on 2nd Street past Arch Street; the entrance to Elfreth's Alley is on your right between Arch and Race Streets.

Did you know?: Each June the residents hold Fete Day, when some of the private homes open their doors to visitors.

Photo op: Stand at the 2nd Street end and shoot down the lane to capture the cobblestones and the rows of shutters and flower boxes.

More on Wikipedia: Elfreth's Alley · Old City, Philadelphia

Elfreth's Alley - A Street Where People Still Live

Stops on this tour