New pocket park at Elfreth’s Alley opens for Semiquincentennial visitors, with nearby mural planned

A vacant lot once dismissed as an eyesore at historic Elfreth’s Alley will debut next week as a pocket park, speedily set to open for an influx of tourists expected for Philadelphia’s 250th anniversary celebrations of the Declaration of Independence.

The lot at North Second Street and Elfreth’s Alley has been transformed into Dolly Ottey Park, honoring the woman who championed preservation of the narrow cobblestone lane beginning in the 1930s.

A new mural though the city’s Mural Arts program is also in the works for a blank wall across from the park, though details are not yet set.

Job Itzkowitz, executive director of the Old City District, said construction is finished and a grand opening is scheduled for 11 a.m. on May 29.

“One part of our vision plan was to have an improved public space for the neighborhood,” Itzkowitz said. “But it’s also for visitors to the alley, and there’s hundreds of thousands of them each year.”

The modestly landscaped park features a crushed stone base, three newly planted trees, four flower planters, and a section of natural wild grasses.

Itzkowitz said a bench installed by the nonprofit Historic Philadelphia will be used as a gathering spot by Old City guides giving walking tours. Historic Philadelphia operates and maintains the nearby Betsy Ross House and Franklin Square, and operates Once Upon A Nation, a storytelling program.

“The bench gives visitors a place to take a moment to reflect, learn,” he said.

Its organizers expect it will be used by a mix of nearby residents and tourists.

Itzkowitz said the park was previously “a muddy, grassy lot” used often by dog walkers. He said the new pocket park is an interim project with the goal of more enhancements later.

Organizers include Old City District and Elfreth’s Alley Association who conceived of an idea for a park about eight years ago. But it was only the past eight months or so that it took a fast track to completion, spurred by the Semiquincentennial.

The park cost $50,000, supported by a fundraising campaign launched last year.

Cooperation by the lot’s owner, Bit Investment Seventy-Eight L.L.C., has been key, Itzkowitz said. The company owns National Old City Apartments along North Second Street and the lot is part of that holding.

The new park’s name is rooted in city history.

Elfreth’s Alley is believed to be America’s oldest continuously inhabited residential street and traces its origins to the early 1700s. The cobblestone alley, about 400 feet long and lined by 30 brick buildings, was named for Jeremiah Elfreth, an 18th-century blacksmith.

It originally housed artisans and merchants, serving as a base for business ventures. Notable figures such as Stephen Girard, who helped finance the War of 1812, are believed to have lived there.

However, the alley faced demolition due to neglect and development pressure. From the 1890s to the 1930s, part of the block was rebranded as Cherry Street, leading to the loss of at least one historic home.

Ottey, a resident and owner of the Hearthstone restaurant at 115 Elfreth’s Alley, formed the Elfreth’s Alley Association in 1934 to protect the unique street and save it from destruction.

The alley faced an existential threat in the 1950s and 1960s by proposed construction of I-95 that would have demolished at least half of it. Ottey and the Elfreth’s Alley Association protested, and the community gathered 12,000 signatures for a petition that successfully spared the street.

Elfreth’s Alley was named as a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s and is listed on Philadelphia’s historic register.

Ottey died in 1996 in South Jersey at age 85.

The alley remains a residential area and historical attraction with a museum to educate visitors on that history.

“Folks have lived on Elfreth’s Alley for more than 300 years because people cared enough to fight for it — and Dolly Ottey Park is a reflection of that same spirit,“ said Liz Welsh, president of the nonprofit Elfreth’s Alley Association. It’s a space that honors the legacy of the Alley while inviting new generations to connect with the history around them.”

Welsh, who also lives on the alley, notes that the public has already embraced the new park, with both neighbors and tourists frequently utilizing the newly installed seating.

The park offers a much-needed gathering spot for large walking tours because the alley is so narrow, she said, and will help ease pedestrian congestion.

Welsh said new mural will be painted on a wall facing the empty lot across from Dolly Ottey Park. The lot is used for parking. She anticipates the art will be completed just before the July 4 celebrations.

Dolly Ottey Park’s opening was also timed for Elfreth’s Alley Fete Day on June 6, when residents of the alley open their doors to visitors. Fete Day will be marked by music, reenactors, artisan crafters, activities for children, and a cash bar. There is an admission fee.