The stories within the Elfreth’s Alley Museum houses at 124 and 126 recount the residents that once called it home and share the details of the businesses operated there. We explore the remaining evidence of how the buildings on Elfreth’s Alley have evolved and responded to the city’s changing needs. The homes have expanded, contracted, split, and merged; take a closer look at each one and see the stories they can share.
Rear of 126 (and 124) Elfreth’s Alley
HABS No. PA-1413-1
126 Elfreth’s Alley (Cherry Street), John Schoendienst,
Philadelphia Contributionship Insurance Policy, 1918
1997 Opening of the new shared museum space for the Elfreth’s Alley Museum in 124 and 126.
126 Elfreth’s Alley
1961 Status Update Letter, Museum House Restoration
Local online resources can be the first step in researching a property in Philadelphia.
Atlas.phila.gov, Philageohistory.org
The Elfreth’s Alley Museum Expansion - 1997
In 1996-1997 the Elfreth’s Alley Association embarked on an ambitious project to recreate an 1810 kitchen in the first-floor, back room of 126, to move the gift shop into the rear of 124, interpret 124 as a Windsor chair-maker’s shop, and to open up then divided garden of 124 and 126. Previously 124 had been rented as a private home, now the Elfreth’s Alley Museum could expand into both buildings to interpret and tell the story of Elfreth’s Alley.
