Over the last few decades it seems lots of people have been concerned about how Christmas is changing. On one hand, there is the so-called “War on Christmas,” and people taking issue with Starbucks cups and the greeting “Happy Holidays.” On the other hand, there are those who complain about the way in which the Christmas season seems to creep earlier and earlier in the year. Both of these complaints bemoan changing traditions. But that “classic” tradition of Christmas--Christmas trees, cookies, and toys toys toys--where did that come from?
Bonus Episode: Fire
Hello! We're back with a quick episode about the history of fire (and fire insurance, fire fighting, and historically-clad fire safety demonstrations) on Elfreth's Alley and with some news about upcoming events!
Firemarks in a museum display. Image by Aries McFadden, used under Creative Commons License.
Episode 8: Renewal
This season we have worked our way from dressmakers in 1762 through to 20th-century preservationists, with many other topics in between. We have explored how the neighborhood around Elfreth’s Alley was built and rebuilt, how economic and demographic changes in the city as a whole affected this little street, and how commemoration and preservation began to remake the street even as these efforts remained, in effect, racially segregated.
Today we continue with the story of 20th century commemoration efforts on the Alley as well as at Independence Hall, and we will wrap up this first season of The Alley Cast.
Episode 7: When Elfreth's Alley Became Historic
Over the last few episodes, we have shown how Elfreth’s Alley went from a neighborhood of artisans in early Philadelphia to a rundown street in the shadow of factories and warehouses, with unsanitary conditions and rampant overcrowding by the 1930s.
Today, Elfreth’s Alley is in nearly every guidebook to Philadelphia as a must-see attraction. During a typical summer Saturday, some thousand visitors walk down the length of the block, duck into Bladen’s Court, a small offshoot of the Alley, and retrace their steps back up the street, posing for photos in front of the Instagram-worthy houses and the historical flags waving above.
How did this transformation happen? Why did it happen? Who made it happen?
In this episode, we will examine the beginning of Elfreth’s Alley metamorphosis into a tourist spot.
Episode 6: Urban "Decay" and The City of Homes
In Episode 6 of The Alley Cast, we discuss housing in Philadelphia--how it changed in around the turn of the 20th century and how some parts of the city were neglected into such disrepair that a multitude of organizations were created to try to fix them. But we will also be exploring an idea that we touched on a little in episode 5 and which we will continue to engage with through the end of this season. That the ways in which city neighborhoods are labeled--as factory districts, or quote unquote “slums,” or even historic--are tied up in the priorities of those with power, privilege, and speculative financial investment in those neighborhoods. These labels often determine the options available to those without power and without privilege who live and work in these spaces. And sometimes the labels applied by city planners, reformers, investors, and preservationists can determine the future of a neighborhood--for good or bad, or simply for different--despite the wishes and actions of the people who live and work there.
Bonus Episode: Meet the Team
Episode 5: An Industrial Neighborhood
We often focus on the years when Elfreth's Alley was a center of artisan production, but this week we turn to the industrial age, which did just as much to shape the street. We learn about a few Alley residents who were part of the Great Migration, Black Southerners who came to Philadelphia and other Northern cities for work.
Archives for Black Lives: Anti-Racist Description Resources: https://archivesforblacklives.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/ardr_final.pdf
Episode 4: The Racial Politics of Domestic Labor
Episode 3: The Public Universal Friend in Philadelphia
This week we begin with one of the widows on Elfreth's Alley, who housed a nonbinary Quaker minister titled the Public Universal Friend and the Friend's group of followers. Along the way we will talk about Quakerism, gender norms and gender variance in Philadelphia, explore how the Public Universal Friend's gender ambiguity and religious ideas unsettled societal norms and learn how the Friend navigated a city whose inhabitants who felt threatened by this queer gender expression.
Episode 2: Spinsters, Runaway Wives, and Widows
Last week, we talked about three dressmakers who lived on Elfreth’s Alley from the mid-eighteenth century into the early nineteenth century. We learned that Mary Smith, Sarah Melton, and Elizabeth Carr were all examples of women who spent some or all of their adult lives in couples with other women, rather than with men, and we explored the possibilities of their professional and personal lives together. Today on the Alley Cast, we are going to explore the economic and social circumstances of the other female-headed households on Elfreth’s Alley from 1785 to 1820 and consider what brought these women here and how the Alley shaped their lives.
Episode 1: The Dressmakers
In Episode 1 of The Alley Cast, Isabel Steven tells the story of three women who lived on Elfreth's Alley in the eighteenth century who worked as dressmakers. Steven explores us how these women made their living sewing clothes and invites us to imagine what their working and personal relationships might have been like.
Introducing The Alley Cast
We are so excited to be launching a new podcast! The Alley Cast tells the stories of everyday Philadelphians and the historical forces which shaped their lives. Season 1 focuses on women who lived or worked on Elfreth’s Alley and includes stories from 1762 - 1967. Episode 1 will be released on June 25, 2020!