Philadelphia – The House of Edgar Alan Poe

For all its charm and history, Elfreth’s Alley was not our destination – just a passage to Philadelphia’s most poetic home. A thirty minute walk beyond the Expressway to an area I wouldn’t like to find myself after dark, and there it was. Poe lived in different houses during his six-year residence in Philadelphia, but this is the only one still standing. Poe lived here with his beloved wife Virginia and devoted mother-in-law Maria Clemm who was an excellent housekeeper, a great help to the couple especially while Virginia was in declining health. The house is stripped bare; no objects or furniture belonging to Poe because nothing was left behind when the family moved on to their next home in the Bronx. Only drawings and period photographs indicate how it would have looked back then.  Narrow staircases and tiny rooms always make me wonder how much we and our living spaces have expanded over the years.
The cellar, that is said to have been described in “The Black Cat” (1843), a short story written here, in Philadelphia. The reading room, the only furnished one in the house and decorated according to Poe’s ”The Philosophy of furniture”. A library with the full body of Poe’s work is available and visitors are warmly encouraged to sit comfortably and indulge to their heart’s content. Plan ahead though: admission is free but the house is open only Friday through Sunday, from 9am – 12noon, and 1pm -5pm. And they do take their lunch break seriously! Edgar Allan Poe’s House
532 N. 7th Street
Philadelphia

February 24th, 2017