Love Letter

If you’re from Philly, you probably know about the Mural Arts Program. You also might know about Steve Powers’  Love Letter Project. You might even know that Love Letter is a Mural Arts Program project. If you’re familiar… Read More

Tiles Profiled by Hellion Internet Reporter

Last week I was contacted by CBS3 internet reporter (and former Miss Pennsylvania) Nicole Brewer about creating a site profile for the station. The webcast would chronicle the fascinating world of toynbeeidea.com and more specifically my bizarre obsession… Read More

Fascinating List of Intersections

Since it’s too hot to think of anything interesting, I’ll post a list of raw data. Below is the ever-expanding list of 2008 Toynbee Tiles. What the tiler may have lacked in quality, he more than made up… Read More

New York City = House of Hades

About a year ago, several large, colorful street tiles appeared in Buffalo, NY. By winter the “House of Hades” tiles had been completely destroyed by snowplows. But their creators have been tenacious. Earlier this year, a new batch… Read More

Toynbee, 2001 and the Planet Jupiter

I just realized that I never posted this. As I was being born back in 1979, a Philadelphian came across this passage on pgs 139-142 of Arnold Toynbee’s autobiography, Experiences changing his life forever: — Man’s situation is,… Read More

Beautiful Mary

Beginning as early as 1980 and ending about a decade later, wheatpaste fliers were glued to bus stations, Communist Workers Party and USA Today newspaper boxes, lampposts, signs and other public surfaces across center city Philadelphia. No photos… Read More

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good: While driving to Maryland this Thanksgiving, I decided to stop at the rest areas that my bladder schedule usually compels me to pass over. That meant an early stop just south of Wilmington Delaware. Why this… Read More

Street Preachings

What do Charles, Darwin, Carl Sagan, L. Ron Hubbard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and the 9-11 terrorists all have in common? Not much, but all are targets of a Reading Terminal area street prophet: . . . . .

Penny Suit Man

A couple weeks ago I finally saw Penny Suit Man. Penny Suit Man is one of Philly’s more elusive street characters. Like the Toynbee tiler, Mister James the El-Prophet*, the elderly lady at 12th and Market that dresses… Read More

playing to the crowd

I’m thinking of switching to an all Toynbee tile format. Actually I’m not, but it might be a good idea. Tile posts have the most comments are the most googled and have the most external links. Clearly this… Read More