In this new episode of The Alley Cast, we explore the ingrained history of woodworking in Philadelphia, from William Penn's pamphlets advertising tree species, to the importation of mahogany felled by enslaved labor, to craftspeople such as John Head and Daniel Trotter. And while shifts toward industrialized methods doomed the artisan cabinetmaker for a time, we also look at the endurance and resurgence of wood craft in this city.

This week we are talking about boarding houses, and we got to interview Dr. Wendy Gamber, who is one of the leading scholars on the history of the American boarding house. We trace Elfreth’s Alley’s history of boarding houses through the 18th and 19th centuries to the era when, nationally, the institution came under fire through messaging like the image above. Yet even when the boarding house seemed to fade into the sands of time, we see emerging echoes of it in the 21st century.

This week on The Alley Cast we turn our attention to the topic of child labor and look at the lives of some children on Elfreth’s Alley as well as the story of how understandings of childhood were changed by the national movement to reform child labor.

Continuing our exploration of the history of home construction, Part II digs into the archaeological record on Elfreth’s Alley and covers some of the big housing trends of the 20th century.