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Quadrophenia Alley -

This dingy alleyway between two clothing stores in Brighton became the setting of a historical showdown in 1964. At the time, London’s youth had divided themselves into two main subcultures, identifying as either mods or rockers. When groups from both factions ended up in the seaside town one weekend, they clashed in an epic riot that shocked the city. Deck chairs from Brighton Beach were thrown and trash cans were used as projectiles. Many people were arrested.

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Quadrophenia Alley -

Quadrophenia Alley was a central location of the drama and was used as an escape route from the police. The historic feud was immortalized in the 1979 movie ‘Quadrophenia’ starring Sting, which was based on an album by The Who of the same name.

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Ryman Alley -

Nashville is the epicenter of country music in the US, and the Ryman Auditorium and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge are two of its most historic venues. The biggest stars in the game have made the short journey between the Ryman and Tootsie’s countless times, always via the iconic Ryman Alley. A few names include Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, and Chet Atkins.

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Ryman Alley -

Willie Nelson apparently walked that way so many times that he knew exactly how many steps there are between the two venues. The quote “17 steps to Tootsie’s and 34 back,” is attributed to Nelson. He was presumably referring to the weaving walk back to the Ryman after a few too many drinks at Tootsie’s!

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Ryman Alley -

In the 1950s, two young aspiring musicians used to play their guitars and sing in the alley every night in the hopes of catching the attention of someone from the music industry. Eventually, their plan worked when Chet Atkins passed by and invited them to perform on stage at the Grand Ole Opry that night. The duo would go on to be known as the Everly Brothers.

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Wooden Alley -

The city of Chicago began to pave its streets with wood around 1850. Blocks of wood were carved into bricks, laid in the street, and covered with coal tar. By 1871, it became clear that this combination of materials was highly combustible. During the Great Chicago Fire, the streets were literally burning as 3.3 square miles of the city were destroyed, and 300 lives lost.

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Wooden Alley -

Wooden Alley in the city’s north is the only remaining example of a woodblock street. While it may simply look like dark stone, a closer look will reveal the rings in the wood. It was restored in 2011.

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Carreró de les Bruixes -

Carreró de les Bruixes is found in the medieval walled town of Cervera, in Catalonia, Spain. This darkened alleyway is located on the outskirts of the town and is covered by tunnels and bridges in many sections. It’s rumored that witches used to meet there during the full moon to share their spells.

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Carreró de les Bruixes -

There are symbols indicating the alley’s magic history scattered throughout, from moons to tarot cards. The popularity of the unique Carreró de les Bruixes inspired a citywide tradition that started in the 1970s: the Aquelarre de Cervera, or the "Witches’ Sabbath Party." For three days at the end of August, the townspeople celebrate in fantastic costumes and enjoy mystical performances.

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Ross Alley -

San Francisco’s Ross Alley is the oldest in the city. It was built in 1849 and quickly became a central hub for prostitution, gambling, and the other illegal activities that flourished as thousands of fortune hunters flooded the city during the Gold Rush.

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Ross Alley -

The area was also home to incoming Chinese immigrants and eventually became San Francisco’s thriving Chinatown neighborhood. The famous Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory opened on Ross Alley in the 1960s, and the street is now decorated with murals depicting the daily life of Chinese Americans.

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Clifford’s Inn Passage -

London’s Clifford’s Inn Passage originally served as the entryway to the Clifford’s Inn of Chancery, a prestigious legal institution. By the 19th century, the dingy alleyway housed many disreputable drinking establishments from which patrons would drunkenly stagger to urinate in the street.

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Clifford's Inn Passage -

This happened so frequently and in such great quantities that the walls of Clifford’s Inn Passage were corroded by the near-constant streams of urine. In an effort to prevent further damage, the city installed “urine deflectors.” These metal shelf-like additions protruded from the walls and slanted downwards to guide the streams into the gutter, or onto the perpetrator's feet… The urine deflectors of Clifford’s Inn Passage are some of the few remaining examples left in London.

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Clifford's Inn Passage -

One so-called gentleman of the era was not a fan of the innovative solution. He is quoted as saying, “In London a man may sometimes walk a mile before he can meet with a suitable corner; for so accommodating are the owners of doorways, passages, and angles, that they seem to have exhausted invention in the ridiculous barricades and shelves, grooves, and one fixed above another, to conduct the stream into the shoes of the luckless wight who shall dare to profane the intrenchments.”

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Goodwin’s Court -

When you step onto the cobblestones of London’s Goodwin’s Court, it feels like you’re stepping into a Charles Dickens novel. However, the 300-year-old alley actually became the inspiration for a location in a different popular work of fiction.

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Goodwin’s Court - Goodwin’s Court is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley, or the more ominous Knockturn Alley, from the ‘Harry Potter’ series, and the resemblance is clear. The elegant but somewhat faded facades and gaslight lamps seem to be plucked from a film set.

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The narrowest street in Prague -

One of the stranger attractions in the Czech capital, the so-called “narrowest street in Prague” is a minuscule alleyway that is only 28 in (70 cm) wide at its narrowest point. Such paths in the city are so small that they don’t even have a name, so it is colloquially known as nejužší ulice, or “the narrowest street.”

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The narrowest street in Prague -

This tiny alley is so small and so popular that a traffic light system has been installed to prevent pedestrians from trying to enter at either end and getting stuck in the middle with no space to pass each other! Tourist reviews warn that larger visitors may not be able to fit through at all.

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Blackstone Block -

The historical Blackstone Block neighborhood in central Boston is the oldest remaining network of preserved streets in the city. The 17th- and 18th-century passages like Scott Alley and Wings Lane are no wider than six feet in some places. They connect you to the historic Creek Square, which was marshland until 1652.

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Blackstone Block -

Around the corner is the famous Union Oyster House, the city’s oldest restaurant, which was established in 1826, although the building is more than a century older. And fun fact: the Union Oyster House was where the creator of the toothpick began to spread his new idea!

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Dead Man’s Alley -

Pedestrians strolling through the Welsh capital city of Cardiff may take a shortcut through the picturesque alley that passes between two green spaces and leads straight to Cardiff Market. However, if they look a little more closely, they’ll notice they’re walking amongst the dead.

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Dead Man’s Alley -

The aptly named Dead Man’s Alley lies in front of St. John the Baptist’s church and cuts between its two graveyards. Along the alley, you’ll find metal numbers imprinted on the ground that indicate where bodies are buried in underground vaults. The church agreed to let the city create the alley as a shortcut to the market, but they had to pave over burial vaults to do so.

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Golden Gai -

Golden Gai is a historic neighborhood in Tokyo made up of six alleys packed with the tiniest bars and restaurants in the world. Some are so small they can only fit around five people sitting elbow to elbow. This Shinjuku hotspot is what comes to mind for many when they think of Japan. Golden Gai, which means “golden block,” comes alive at night when its 200-plus establishments open for the night.

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Golden Gai -

Jumping back to 1945, this part of Tokyo had a reputation for prostitution and black market trading after World War II. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, the bars and restaurants became popular with local artists, writers, and intellectuals. It came to be called the bunkajin no matchi, or "the district of cultivated people.”

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Golden Gai -

In the 1980s, the small business owners of Golden Gai came under threat of the Yakuza, who tried to intimidate them out of the area so they could sell the valuable land to real estate developers. The locals stayed strong and the historic neighborhood has remained more or less unchanged since the 1940s.

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Fasti Verolani -

The ancient town of Veroli in Lazio, Italy, dates back to Roman times. If you wander the narrow cobbled streets, you may find yourself in the unassuming courtyard of the Casa Reali, or "Royal House," face to face with a fascinating piece of history. An ancient Roman calendar carved into a sheet of marble was found here in 1922 and was called the Fasti Verolani.

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Fasti Verolani -

The marble slab was being used to seal a tomb when it was discovered, and its pieces were carefully reassembled by a local scholar. It was then placed on the wall of the Casa Reali for all to see. It includes the first three months of the year and is dated to approximately 14 CE, based on the fact that the calendar makes reference to the death of the Roman Emperor Augustus. The spot has been called Fasti Verolani after the calendar. Pictured is a similar artifact discovered at the archaeological site of Amiternum in Abruzzo.

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Needless Alley -

The UK is littered with oddly named streets, from Ingle Pingle in Loughborough to There And Back Again Lane in Bristol. The origin of London’s Needless Alley has been lost in time, but there are some theories as to how it earned this strange moniker.

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Needless Alley -

It may simply have been named Needless Alley due to the fact that there were several needle-making businesses in the area. Another theory is that alleyways like this one were closed off in the 1700s to discourage criminal activities and squalor.

Sources: (Atlas Obscura) (Insider) (Look Up London) (JRPASS)

See also: Where to follow Roman roads

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