#TOYNBEE TILES HOW TO#

For Tonybee fans, that's reason for hope. The Streets Department wants to save a few for posterity, before their slow resurfacing process destroys the few left remaining that have managed to survive years of city winters and SEPTA buses. And with all signs suggesting the mysterious tiler has left the city for good, the tiles are becoming ever more rare and in danger of extinction in their native habitat, Philadelphia. The tiles have inspired imitators and thieves alike, not to mention numerous news pieces and one award-winning documentary. The tiles are at once part of our local lore and art known the world over, the purported product of a South Philly man with a tenuous grip on reality and a tremendous amount of creativity. The city's paving agreements stipulate that paving contractors must halt resurfacing and notify a Streets engineer if they come across a Toynbee Tile, those strange mosaic messages embedded into the pavement across Philadelphia. And yet it's probably the only city department that's baked an art-preservation clause into its standard, bid-out contracts. Streets employees may be the least likely city workers to be found spending Sunday at the Barnes or catching a gallery opening on First Friday.

#TOYNBEE TILES HOW TO#

The department that's its own weird mix of brawny guys who use their backs to pay the bills, wonky engineers, and accountants trying to figure out how to stretch a shoestring budget to cover thousands of miles of roads. I mean the actual Streets Department, better known as those guys who try to fill potholes and pick up trash, and never hear the end of it when they don't quite get it all. Benner obviously cares a little bit about street art, too. No, I'm not talking about Streets Dept., the photographer with 143,000 followers on Instagram, although Mr. The Streets Department cares about Philly's street art.

Toynbee tiles