An Interview with Ted Maust of the Elfreth’s Alley Museum

Today’s article is a conversation with Historic America’s very own Sonali Prillman and Ted Maust, the director of the Elfreth’s Alley Museum in Philadelphia. Join them as they discuss the earliest American fire departments, rowdy volunteer firefighter brawls, the oldest property insurance company in the country, what it is like to run such a unique museum, or about how one of the oldest residential streets in the United States has changed through the centuries.

Sonali PrillmanApril 6, 2021Elfreth’s Alley, Elfreth’s Alley Museum, Ted Maust, Philadelphia, Colonial America, Fire Safety, Fireman's Hall Museum, The Philadelphia Contributionship, Benjamin FrankilinComment

Elfreth’s Alley: One of the Oldest Residential Streets in America

Tucked into Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood is a narrow street with an old-fashioned name: Elfreth’s Alley. Since at least 1713, this little street has been home, with possibly ten thousand people living here in the intervening three centuries. The homes that stand today, built between 1724 and 1836, have seen Philadelphia change from a bustling Colonial port to an industrial powerhouse and finally to a post-industrial city.

Ted MaustFebruary 18, 2021Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia, American historyComment