Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia (USA)

The historic Elfreth’s Alley, dating as early as 1703, contains 32 houses all built until 1836 and lies within the Old City on the northeast corner of Center City, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

The cobblestone alley is lined with Georgian and Federal style as well as Trinity residences, named after local blacksmith and property owner Jeremiah Elfreth, that were typical in Philadelphia back in those days.

It features the Elfreth’s Alley Museum which preserves the 18th century home of a pair of dressmakers, restored to its Colonial look, while it annually stages the Fête Day in early June that honours its diverse ethnic background.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia

The Victorian beauty of Furness-Hewitt building houses the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) lying on North Broad Street, the east boundary of the neighbourhood of Logan Square, and Cherry Street (right) in the Center City, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania).

The institution, which doubles as a museum and private art school, was founded as early as 1805 by painter-cum-scientist Charles Willson Peale and sculptor William Rush among several artists and business leaders to shape the first and oldest of its kind across the US.

For that matter, the museum enjoys international stature and presents collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings, sculptures and works on paper as well as an archives of significance as regards the study of American art history, art training and museums.

Construction of the edifice got underway in 1871 to be completed and opened in 1876 with regard to the Centennial Exposition, the first official expo to be held in the US, for the celebration of a full century since the signing of the Declaration of Indepence in Philadelphia.

It was designed by American architects Frank Furness and George Hewitt, hence its name, and combines elements of Renaissance Revival, Gothic Revival and Second Empire styles among others.