Introduction

Markley Place, which in recent times has begun to be referred to as Markley Street, is a short alley that runs west from North 5th Street, between Market and Cooper Street, behind the Centenary-Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal Church building. Markley Place appears on the 1891 Sanborn Map as Burr Alley, taking its name from the John Burr’s “fancy box and case” factory, which had four buildings along the south side of the alley. In the same year, 1891, the City Directory lists Markley Place for the first time. Construction began on the church the following year, as did construction on the Masonic Temple, better known as the Temple Theatre. For many years Markley Place had an alley at its west end which carried the street through to North 4th Street. During the years when the Temple Theatre was open and featuring stage plays and vaudeville, Markley Place must have been an interesting place indeed, with the comings and goings of actors, stage crew, agents and the like.

The Temple closed in the 1920s and in the 1930s a new federal building, which included the main post office for Camden, was built. As cars could not traverse Markley Place through from North 5th to North 4th Street, Markley Place for all intents and purposes became a dead end. There is one building on Markley Place which was built after the Temple Theatre was razed, that carries the address 428 Markley Place.