Join us on June 7, 2025 for our annual summer open house, where residents of Elfreth's Alley open their opens to the public to show how 21st century life happens in 18th century homes! All proceeds benefit the non-profit Elfreths Alley Association to preserve the Alley and Museum.
Our popular holiday open house fundraiser returns! Don't miss this unique opportunity to start the holiday season by seeing inside the homes of Elfreth's Alley while the sounds and smells of the holiday surround you.
The Elfreth’s Alley Association invites the public to a Makers Market on Saturday Nov 2nd, 2024, from 11am-4pm! During this one-day event, local Philadelphia crafters, artisans, and regional makers will set up shop on Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia’s most historic residential street.
Centuries of artisans, craftspeople, and working class folks lived on this street, and this event celebrates that history by inviting present-day artisans and craftspeople to continue their business on the Alley. It is FREE to attend, but we recommend bringing some money to purchase the fantastic items you'll find!
Featured vending includes artwork, plants, candles, jewelry, home goods, and vintage items. You won't want to miss it!
This summer, we’re finding new ways to participate with Old City Philadelphia’s First Fridays programming! Each month, one of our Board members is setting a theme, speakers, events, snacks, and the museum will be open for free!
It’s a wonderful way to find new places and become an Old City regular. Come on by!
Join us in the Elfreth’s Alley Museum garden for nine performances of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, presented by the Indecorous Theatre as part of the 2024 Philly Fringe Festival.
Performance Dates:
September 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22
Performance Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: the originator of Enemies-To-Lovers. A story of old friends, misunderstandings, snarky banter, and complicated love.
Ticket Price: $20 (30% supports Elfreth’s Alley Association’s preservation efforts).
Join us on June 1, 2024 for our annual summer open house, where residents of Elfreth's Alley open their opens to the public to show how 21st century life happens in 18th century homes! All proceeds benefit the non-profit Elfreths Alley Association to preserve the Alley and Museum.
Join us for a free event to celebrate First Friday in Old City and experience Historic Preservation first hand! Participate in our Preservation Scavenger Hunt, learn more about how the Museum houses and the Alley were preserved, and meet the new Elfreth’s Alley staff and board members.
All are welcome, admission is free, museum and gift shop are open.
Our popular holiday open house fundraiser returns! Don't miss this unique opportunity to start the holiday season by seeing inside the homes of Elfreth's Alley while the sounds and smells of the holiday surround you.
Whether you've visited us for Deck the Alley or Fete Day before, or you were one of the 2,000+ people to stroll down for our Makers Market (wow!) we're so excited to celebrate with you! And this year we are excited to welcome back our Elfreth's Alley Holiday Elves - they will be peaking out of windows, around doors, and making their appearance throughout the Alley - come see how many you can find
Come visit us on December 9th, from 2-6pm. Feel free to contact us with any questions! This is a rain or shine (or even snow!) event.
The Elfreth’s Alley Association invites the public to a Makers Market on Nov 4th, 2023, from 11am-4pm! During this one-day event, local Philadelphia crafters, artisans, and regional makers will set up shop on Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia’s most historic residential street.
Centuries of artisans, craftspeople, and working class folks lived on this street, and this event celebrates that history by inviting present-day artisans and craftspeople to continue their business on the Alley. It is FREE to attend, but we recommend bringing some money to purchase the fantastic items you'll find!
Featured vending includes artwork, plants, candles, jewelry, home goods, and vintage items. You won't want to miss it!
This summer, we’re finding new ways to participate with Old City Philadelphia’s First Fridays programming! Each month, one of our Board members is setting a theme, speakers, events, snacks, and the museum will be open for free!
It’s a wonderful way to find new places and become an Old City regular. Come on by!
This summer, we’re finding new ways to participate with Old City Philadelphia’s First Fridays programming! Each month, one of our Board members is setting a theme, speakers, events, snacks, and the museum will be open for free!
It’s a wonderful way to find new places and become an Old City regular. Come on by!
We’ll be offering a practice tour for our volunteers who are interested in learning to give one themselves! This is also a great opportunity to learn some more history of the Alley if you’d like to deepen your understanding. Please RSVP through our Signup Genius link!
This summer, we’re finding new ways to participate with Old City Philadelphia’s First Fridays programming! Each month, one of our Board members is setting a theme, speakers, events, snacks, and the museum will be open for free!
It’s a wonderful way to find new places and become an Old City regular. Come on by!
New & newer volunteers are invited to come to the museum during open hours to get a lay of the land and ask any questions before jumping on board.
If you've been around the block (alley?) a few times, you should swing by too and offer any sage advice!
This summer, we’re finding new ways to participate with Old City Philadelphia’s First Fridays programming! Each month, one of our Board members is setting a theme, speakers, events, snacks, and the museum will be open for free!
It’s a wonderful way to find new places and become an Old City regular. Come on by!
On June 3, 2023, the Elfreth’s Alley Association will hold its annual Fete Day celebration. This is an event which dates back to 1934 (89 years!), in which residents of Elfreth’s Alley open their doors to allow visitors a glimpse of 21st century life in these 18th- and 19th-century houses. Discover how generation after generation have continued to preserve, alter and add to these historic structures.
There will be entertainment and history aplenty to enjoy as you walk by/inside the homes on the street. In the past we have welcomed musical groups, food vendors, artisan crafters, and historians to share their passion of the Alley with guests! We are so excited to welcome you all back this summer!
This event is a fundraiser for the Elfreth's Alley Association, which works to preserve this historic street and tell the stories of this place through the Elfreth's Alley Museum (at houses #124 and #126) and events throughout the year. There are a variety of ways to support our organization, including volunteering at events and in the museum, shopping in our gift shop, and donating if you can. Find more information about the street's history and ways to support our work at elfrethsalley.org
Centuries of artisans, craftspeople, and working class folks lived on this street, and the Elfreth’s Alley Association aims to honor that history and continue those traditions by inviting artisans and craftspeople to continue their business on the Alley. During our twice-a-year Market (the other is in November!), we coordinate with vendors around Philadelphia to come sell their crafts, treasures, and goods on our little street! Keep up with our social media to receive hints as to who the vendors will be for our Spring Makers Market.
Hours: 11am - 3pm
Ticketed: No
Rain or shine!
The Elfreth’s Alley Association was founded in 1934 to preserve one of America’s oldest residential streets. Since the 1960s, the EAA has operated a museum at houses #124 and #126 as part of its ongoing work to preserve and protect the historic district and interpret the contributions of everyday Philadelphians to the American story.
Donations and support help us continue this work and celebrate Philadelphian history!
INTERESTED IN VENDING? Fill out this form!
This summer, we’re finding new ways to participate with Old City Philadelphia’s First Fridays programming! Each month, one of our Board members is setting a theme, speakers, events, snacks, and the museum will be open for free!
It’s a wonderful way to find new places and become an Old City regular. Come on by!
Celebrate the festive season on Philly’s most historic residential street! At Deck the Alley, our winter-time Open House, visitors can be swept away by the historic homes decked out in holiday style. The residents once again open their homes for a holiday celebration like no other! Carolers and other performers fill the historic street with song and Colonial charm and admission to the Elfreth’s Alley Museum is included!
To limit crowding, we’re selling tickets in two two-hour time slots, and we encourage you to wear masks in indoor spaces.
More details to come! Event may be modified in accordance with public health mandates.
SAVE THE DATE - Elfreth’s Alley will host a Makers’ Market on November 5th, featuring regional artists, vintage vendors, and home goods makers. This street’s history is full of artisans, and we’re so excited to bring artisans back for a second year of this lovely event.
Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest details about this and other Elfreth’s Alley events:
Join us for our last First Friday of the 2022 Season!
October 7th, 5:30-8:00 pm
The cast and creators of the Grim Philly Tours and Grim Podcast will be joining us at the Alley to share highlights of the upcoming podcast season, tease us with dark stories about Philadelphia’s history, and show you that history is anything but dull.
Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest details about this and other Elfreth’s Alley events:
On June 21st from 10am-1pm, the Elfreth’s Alley Museum will be open free of charge as part of Wawa Welcome America’s Free Museum Days. Come visit our National Historic Landmark and step inside house #126 to learn about people who lived in this house and on this street over three centuries!
Currently on display, we also have work by artist Dilmar Gamero, which attempts to portray the lives of people who left little trace on the street.
Artist Dilmar Gamero discusses his work in the front room of house #126.
On June 4, 2022, the Elfreth’s Alley Association will hold its annual Fete Day celebration. This is an event which dates back to 1934, in which residents of Elfreth’s Alley open their doors to allow visitors a glimpse of 21st century life in these 18th- and 19th-century houses. Discover how generation after generation have continued to preserve, alter and add to these historic structures.
Stay tuned for more details about other entertainment, concessions, and refreshments to come.
Note: Visitors are expected to wear masks when entering private houses.
This event is a fundraiser for the Elfreth's Alley Association, which works to preserve this historic street and tell the stories of this place through the Elfreth's Alley Museum (at houses #124 and #126) and events throughout the year. There are a variety of ways to support our organization, including volunteering at events and in the museum, shopping in our gift shop, and donating if you can.
Fete Day 1952, from the Sunday Evening Bulletin Collection at Temple University’s Special Collections Research Center
Fete Day 2016
Huzzah! Did you know... The first Renaissance Festival ever held in North America was actually an elaborate medieval themed event staged on May 18th, 1778 in the City of Philadelphia? And that it was presented by occupying forces of the British Army? It included processions of pageantry, a river regatta, fireworks, a costumed dance ball and banquet, plus a mounted tournament of armored jousting knights! The event was the brainchild of British Captain John André (otherwise famous for plotting treason with Benedict Arnold), but also a skilled entertainment designer and theatrical director.
An illustration (created a century later) of what the Mischianza might have looked like. Image via Wikimedia Commons
Join us on May 25th for a virtual lecture from historian and reenactor Markus Harris. This event is a collaboration with the New Jersey Renaissance Faire.
Buy tickets ($5) now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/online-lecture-the-mischianza-medieval-merriment-in-revolutionary-philad-tickets-329241449037
“A Portal,” from Gamero’s previous “Pinhole poetry: Windows” series.
Photographer Dilmar Gamero will be opening his show “Experimentation at Elfreth's Alley” at the Elfreth’s Alley Museum on May 6th, 2022 as part of Old City’s First Friday celebration. Gamero has been producing interesting work on Elfreth’s Alley for several years now—check out his experiments to incorporate historic photos into the Alley’s current appearance using rephotography and stereoscopy. Now he has conceived a series of installations in conversation with historic images and archival materials which record the Alley’s history, posing questions about who is included in these collections and who is not. Gamero uses techniques ranging from the very simple—pinhole photographs—to the complex—videos generated from archival material using artificial intelligence—to produce pieces which explore topics such as child labor, domestic labor and which interrogate patterns of power and privilege.
This event is free! If you would like to support the work of the Elfreth's Alley Museum, there are many ways to do so! You can shop at our gift shop, make a donation, or sign up to volunteer!
On select dates in December, stop by house #124 Elfreth’s Alley to browse the wares at our new Holiday Pop-up Shop, featuring museum merchandise as well as the work of local artisans and vendors!
Deck the Alley, the iconic holiday fundraiser, returns to Philadelphia’s most historic street on Saturday, December 4th, 2021! The Elfreth’s Alley Association invites the public to get a glimpse of contemporary life inside 18th and 19th-century houses, tour the Elfreth's Alley Museum, and immerse themselves in seasonal decor and song. Buy your tickets today to support the work of preserving this special place and sharing its history with visitors near and far!
While this year’s Deck the Alley will take steps to make the event safe despite the ongoing pandemic (see below), our favorite traditions are back, from seasonal carols to costumed performers.
Entertainment includes:
20 private homes will open their doors for guest to look inside
Carols performed by groups including Historical Harmonies and Council Rock South High School’s Belle Canto
Urban stargazing led by Buddy Muhler
Costumed interpreters
Holiday Antiques from Ivy & Twig Antiques
A raffle of local goods, supporting the museum’s project to repaint many of its windows
The Museum will be open at house 126 with the gift shop next door at 124 and hot cider on offer in the back garden.
Safety measures:
Due to the ongoing pandemic, guests will not be able to enter private homes this year, but will be able to peer through many of the front doors and learn about the history of the street from our volunteer docents stationed at each house and in the museum at 126 and 124 Elfreth’s Alley.
Tickets are split into two time slots (3-5pm and 5-7pm) to limit crowding and allow distancing.
In accordance with the current city mandate, guests will be required to wear masks when entering the museum and gift shop areas. We will update the event description through all of our channels if we have to evolve Deck the Alley in response to future public health measures.
More details to come!
Tickets on sale now: https://elfrethsalley.ticketleap.com/deck-the-alley-2021
This event is rain or shine!
Tickets support the ongoing work of the Elfreth’s Alley Association to preserve and interpret the historic Elfreth’s Alley.
Our June Flea for All was so fun that we're bringing it back and calling it our Maker’s Market! Having an antiques and handmade goods market on the Alley felt so perfect and even a bit magical. So we’re getting everything ready for the next one … with all the additional enchantment of it happening in autumn.
Come on down to #ElfrethsAlley on November 6th, 10-4 to find a mix of crafts, antiques, and some used items looking for new homes from vendors and some donations from museum friends and family.
We’re gathering a very talented group of makers with a focus on traditional arts, along with sellers of lovely vintage and antique wares, a bit of music, some delicious food and a few delightful surprises! It’ll be a day of extra charm and beauty on the Alley and we can’t wait!
This event will raise funds for our ongoing museum and preservation work, and should be a lot of fun--don't miss it!
And stay tuned for vendor lists, sneak peeks and more news in the coming weeks … 🍂 Updates will be posted at the Facebook Event we have created and on our Instagram.
Vendors currently slated to attend include:
Beads of a Feather (jewelry)
Britleigh Foster (paintings)
Brujologie (embroidery, weaving, prints)
Corey Weiser-Vahey (ceramics)
Dear Alvena (jewelry/vintage)
FlutterbeeCo (jewelry)
Good Gertrude (hand-knitted wearable items)
Isabella Sparrow (vintage)
Jim King (false-grained wood items)
KC Essentials (bee products)
Paint it Forward (hand lettering)
RF Fineries (embroidered towels and aprons)
Warwick Furnace Farm (lavender products)
Whitt’s Wicks (candles)
WildThreads Original (custom wearables and home goods)
Yummy & Company (ceramics)
We still have space for vendors--interested parties should reach out at info@elfrethsalley.org.
This event is co-hosted with Isabella Sparrow
On June 26th we will be offering an hour-long tour of Elfreth’s Alley at a special time, 10:30am. Director Ted Maust will give an overview of the street’s history and the tour will venture through the museum at #126 as well as exploring much of the length of the Alley. A limited number of in-person tickets will be made available with many more tickets available for those joining via Zoom. Tickets are available now!
The Elfreth's Alley Association is holding a fundraiser market on June 12th from 10-3 in the museum garden and other locations around Elfreth's Alley. Board members, neighbors, and friends are donating a variety of items with character for sale, with proceeds supporting the ongoing work of preserving Elfreth's Alley and operating the Elfreth's Alley Museum.
Other vendors will be selling their wares, ranging from antiques to upscale decor to pottery on the Alley. Confirmed vendors:
RF Fineries
36 Craven
Junior League Thrift
Corey Weiser Vahey (ceramic artist)
Ivy and Twig Antiques
Several neighbors will be opening their front doors and allowing visitors to peek inside and catch a glimpse of 21st-century life in 18th- and 19t-century houses. The museum house at #126 will be open to visitors for a donation.
Stay tuned to the Facebook event for some highlights from the inventory on offer over the coming weeks!
***In case of rain, the market will be moved to Sunday, June 13th***
