I wondered whether there might be a street in New York or Massachusetts older than Elfreth's Alley, and it seems that Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY may win the prize:
Huguenot Street is the oldest continually inhabited neighborhood, Elfreth's Alley is the oldest continually inhabited street.
Both of lanfranco's site are clear on this.
Jun 02 2007, 4:36 PM
lanfranco
Answer has 3 votes
lanfranco 20 year member
4170 replies
Answer has 3 votes.
Huguenot Street is just one street, not a collection of them. And if the street and the houses on it together constitute the oldest continuously-inhabited neighborhood, then the street itself must be the oldest inhabited street -- assuming that the late 17th-century date is correct.
Leyden Street in Plymouth dates to 1621 -- making it far older than the other contenders given. And people do still live there.
St. Augustine is older as a city -- 1555, but it was substantially depopulated in 1668 ...
Response last updated by nautilator on Aug 29 2016.
Jun 02 2007, 5:00 PM
star_gazer
Answer has 4 votes
star_gazer 22 year member
5236 replies
Answer has 4 votes.
One problem here is that lanfranco's first link does not work properly.
"Elfreth's Alley is a residential alley located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country..."
Huguenot Street is also refered to as a district in the link and is clearly stated as the oldest continually inhabited neighborhood in its link.
Leydon St. in Plymouth is most certainly an older street, along with others, but it has not been continually inhabited.
Jun 02 2007, 7:50 PM
lanfranco
Answer has 4 votes
lanfranco 20 year member
4170 replies
Answer has 4 votes.
Here's another site on Elfreth's Alley. The Wiki site may be having some trouble with copying and pasting, but if you enter "Elfreth's Alley" and "wikipedia" into Google, it will come up instantly: