Editing Colonial Georgian Architecture (section)

== Georgian Rowhouses ==

Georgian architecture found its most widespread expression in Philadelphia's rowhouses, the attached dwellings that lined the city's streets and established patterns of urban living that persist today. Elfreth's Alley, dating from the 1720s and later, preserves modest Georgian workingmen's houses with their characteristic features: brick facades, plain door surrounds, multi-paned windows, and simple cornices. Wealthier residents built larger Georgian townhouses in Society Hill and Old City, with more elaborate doorways, finer materials, and deeper lots that accommodated gardens and outbuildings.<ref name="moss"/>

The Georgian rowhouse established Philadelphia's urban character: continuous streetwalls of brick, rhythmic window patterns, and modest ornament concentrated at entrances. Unlike the free-standing houses preferred in some colonial cities, Philadelphia's Georgian rowhouses created dense, walkable neighborhoods that made efficient use of William Penn's grid. The style's inherent modularity—its reliance on repeated elements and consistent proportions—allowed rapid construction as the city grew, while its flexibility accommodated various lot widths and family means. Georgian rowhouses remain among Philadelphia's most desirable residences, their proportions and craftsmanship valued by modern inhabitants.<ref name="tatum"/>