History of Elfreth's Alley

Visiting the Alley

Programs and Events

Past Residents & Descendants

Teachers

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DID YOU KNOW?
Elfreth's Alley is only 16 feet wide, and is typical of the side streets and alleyways developed throughout Philadelphia in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Alley is still an active street and cars can and do drive down the street on a regular basis.
 
 

 
Do the histories of ordinary people and places matter?
 
We think they do! Elfreth's Alley is, and always has been, a place that ordinary people have called home. It is an icon of Philadelphia and one of the most visited historic streets in the entire city. We need your help to protect this National Historic Landmark and share the stories of the thousands of ordinary men and women who have called this place home over the last 300 years.

From the time of Philadelphia's founding to the American Revolution, this small street housed sailors, seamstresses, tailors, blacksmiths, and thousands of other people who worked with their hands. During the 1800s thousands of Irish, German, Italian, and Russian immigrants moved to Philadelphia andmade homes in places like Elfreth's Alley. During the Great Depression scores of first and generation Americans who worked in suspender factories, making cardboard boxes, and as policeman and firefighters lived on Elfreth's Alley and in neighborhoods just like it across the city.

Elfreth's Alley is a place where you can follow the lives of real people - in a real place - over three centuries. No other historic site in Philadelphia is sharing these stories.
Your donation to the Elfreth's Alley Association helps us to teach people about home, work, family, and community life for regular working people.
Each year we:
  • Provide tours of the only working-class rowhouse open to the public to thousands of visitors from around the world.
  • Teach more than 2,000 schoolchildren about life for ordinary people, FREE of charge
  • Host Fete Day and Deck the Alley, two open house events that give the public the opportunity to see the private homes on Elfreth's Alley.
  • Work with Alley homeowners to preserve this National Historic Landmark District
  • Advocate for responsible and appropriate development near the Alley.
EAA accepts donations online through PayPal or via Visa, Mastercard, or American Express or check.

To send a donation via U.S. Mail, please click here and enclose the attached form.

The Elfreth’s Alley Association, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Charitable registration information can be obtained by calling 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. Your gift is tax deductible to extent allowed by law. All funds support the educational and preservation programs of the Elfreth’s Alley Association and do not directly benefit private homeowners or individuals in any way.

 
 
 
 
Thank you to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the generous corporations and individuals who  support our mission with general operating support. 
 
The Elfreth's Alley is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization that uses the Alley as a lens to interpret the lives, lifestyles, and livelihoods of ordinary Philadelphians from the time of the City's founding through to the present day.  The Association preserves the Elfreth's Alley National Historic Landmark District as a rare example of a once commonplace working class community from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.