Toynbee Tiles

A few weeks ago I learned about Toynbee tiles.  Toynbee tiles are small, colorful  tiles pressed into the pavement of several major cities.  I have read accounts of these tiles being found in Buenes Aires and Chile and all over American cities-- including but not limited to Boston, Kansas City, Washington DC, Cleveland, and St. Louis.  There is a particularly large collection of these tiles in Philadelphia.

From what I have read, the creators use pieces of linoleum (mosaic-style) and asphalt glue in layers to create the tiles.  The tile is then covered with tar paper and placed on a busy street.  The combination of traffic and the sun push the tiles into the pavement, making a permanent message in the streets.

The message is always the same:

TOYNBEE IDEA

in Kubrick's 2001

RESURRECT DEAD

ON PLANET JUPITER

At one point there were four tiles located in St. Louis.  In 2009 two of the four were paved over (located at 7th and Market St) for the Major League Baseball All-Star game.  The last remaining tiles are located at 8th and Market (near the City Garden) and 6h and Olive (near Macy's).


I had to find them, so I searched the streets.  And this is what I found:

located:  8th and Market

located: 6th and Olive

The bottom of this tile reads: "You must make + glue tiles = you"

Copy cat tile found in St. Louis: 

located:  7th and Olive

You can learn more about these tiles by visiting these links:

NPR

stltoday.com

St. Louis Daily Photo

Wikipedia

There is also a 2011 documentary on the tiles called Resurrect Dead:  The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles

Trailer