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Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Elfreth's Alley is the oldest continually inhabited residential street in the entire United States. The earliest dated house was built in 1702. The Alley comes alive in the summer, when historical reenactments take place regularly. Each house is privately owned, and visitors are not usually allowed to take a tour of the interior, except on "Fete Day" (the first Sunday of June) when most of the houses will be open for public touring. On all other days, however, the museum at numbers 126 and 124 is accessible to the public and offers a look at the lives of the houses' earliest inhabitants.
Elfreth's Alley is a historic street in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, dating back to 1703. The street has 32 houses, built between 1703 and 1836. The Elfreth's Alley Museum is located at #124 and 126. The alley, a National Historic Landmark, runs from North Front to North 2nd streets, paralleling Arch and Quarry streets.
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The restored firehouse was built in 1902 and today is a museum of firefighting owned by the city of Philadelphia. The museum exhibits include firefighting equipment, photographs, uniforms and fire marks from the 18th century to the present.
This house, more than 250 years old, was the home of Betsy Ross. In 1777, Ross sewed by hand the first American flag, with its distinctive circle of thirteen stars. Visitors may tour the house independently, or purchase an audio guide for $5, and afterwards "meet" Betsy Ross and other colonial craftsmen in the courtyard of the house. A fun, low-key activity for children.
The Arden has a 360-seat mainstage theatre and a 175-seat studio theater. The company produces five or six plays each season, with an additional two plays for children. The Arden has received 44 Barrymore awards and was named Philadelphia Magazine's pick for children's theatre in 2007.
Christ Church, the first parish of the Anglican church in Pennsylvania, was founded in 1695 and is still active today; the building dates from 1744. Many of the founding fathers worshiped here, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, as well as Francis Hopkinson and Robert Morris.