Years before, the Philadelphia Department of Streets wanted to replace them with more durable materials, but local residents persuaded the city to keep this one block in historical condition. The lane’s wooden blocks need a high degree of maintenance and were last replaced in the late 1990s. It was originally covered this way for the sake of the inns and clubs along the narrow road, as horse hooves make less noise on wood than on cobblestones.
As such, this is supposedly the only wooden block street in America. The block of South Camac Street between Walnut and Locust Streets is lined with small blocks of wood, a common type of pavement in the early 1800s. Camac Street-once called the “biggest little street in the world”-was officially named “Avenue of the Artists” by the City of Philadelphia in 2001. Reflecting Philadelphia’s reputation for its lack of avantgarde expression, the two-story 19th century houses were once collectively referred to as “Egg Head Row.” More recently, the narrow thoroughfare has been called the “Greenwich Village” of Philadelphia, given the number of artists and writers who reside in the area and frequent the clubs, studios and taverns. The stretch of Camac Street between Walnut and Locust Streets is home to the clubhouses of several longstanding artistic and literary organizations, all mostly Bohemian/artistic in nature.
Here’s a treasure trove of Camac Street info sent to us by Harry Kyriakodis, the Librarian for the American Law Institute/American Bar Association and an avid amateur historian. None of the blocks are original, but the re-creation is authentic. Purported to be the last wooden street in America, Camac has been undergoing patchwork renovation this summer, which appears to be complete.
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