Another highlight for me. This is the country’s oldest residential street, Elfreth’s Alley. It’s a row of beautiful homes, along a cobblestone lane. They have a small museum in one of the homes, and docents standing out front for tours. One of the tour guides was kind and shared with our family a little bit of information without going on a tour. (I want to do the tour next time).
This metal thing attached to the second floor window is called a “busy body”. It has mirrors attached on the other side. If someone knocks on your door, all you have to do is glance at the mirror and decide if you want to answer it or not. You can also see who is visiting next door, hence the name, “busy body”.
Most of the older houses in Philadelphia and the outlying area has a small sign like this on their house. Back then, you would pay one of the many fire brigades for coming to the rescue if your house was on fire. Each fire brigade had its own symbol and you can tell by the symbol which house was covered by which brigade. There was a gentleman’s agreement and other brigades would put out fire’s on homes that were not covered under them, understanding that the same would be done for them another time.
This is the well that held the water. The next picture is of the boys standing above the privy pit. Unfortunately, it was located on higher ground than the well, and the waste would seep through the ground into the well, making people sick.
A few blocks away is an old fashioned ice cream parlor. They make all their own ice cream. Rich and creamy! Franklin Fountain
Next door to the ice ream store is an America’s oldest candy store, since 1863, with a hot chocolate counter n the back! Shane Candies
