text: seven walking tours through historic Philadelphia

Old World Piazza Off Cuthbert Street

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Old World piazza

Turn into Cuthbert Street and take a left into the courtyard which hides several houses that sit just off the alley. An enchanting sight awaits. The owner of one of the buildings — which once was likely a stable — has festooned the wall with sculptures of all sorts. You can see Christ Christ over the rooftops. For a moment one feels transported to an Old World piazza. Delights such as these await the intrepid walker willing to poke his head around a corner or down an alley. This may still be a commercial district, but there are pleasures here no suburbanite can savor — the sound of a ship's horn at night, the sight of the vessels themselves or the wind that breathes in and out of these alleys, around these corners.



Historic District, North of Market Street