MENU Guide Vol. 67 NO. 18 ■ MAY 1, 2014
southphillyreview.com
RISING STARS
see page 21
Colin Smith, center, and Steve Weinik, right, discuss the Toynbee tiles at the Whitman Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Tile expert Justin Duerr is seated on left. Photo by Kendall Whitehouse
■ Help the South Philly Review to pick its first crop of Rising Stars by visiting southphillyreview.com/ news/briefs. Winners will appear in the June 26 issue.
NO RESERVATIONS
■ Delicias Restaurant chef/ owner Lynette Sutton shares the recipe for one of her favorite dishes, Reina Pepiada Arepas. See page 34.
SPORTS
Toynbee tiles still fascinate An anonymous artist with a mysterious message that reached millions started it all in South Philly.
■ By Bill Chenevert R e v i e w S ta f f W r i t e r
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■ A West Passyunk baseball team nearly nipped a perennial powerhouse. See page 39.
t all started right here in South Philly, it seems, on the 2600 block of South Seventh Street. At least that’s what three devoted researchers discovered after years of hunting for a mysterious tiler responsible for the Toynbee tiles of Philadelphia. All three convened at the Whitman Branch, 200 Snyder Ave., Monday to talk
about their long-time passion — getting to the bottom of the meaning and source of mysterious mosaic tiles embedded into our streets with an extremely mystifying set of phrases: “Tonybee Idea. In Movie 2011. Resurrect Dead. On Planet Jupiter.” There are hundreds and they’re not just in Philadelphia. They’ve been dropped into streets with a markedly innovative technique from Boston to Kansas City and Detroit to Buenos Aires. The
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timeline gets a start in the late 1970s with “2001: A Space Odyssey” (the “2001” reference) and a checking-out of British historian Arnold J. Toynbee’s (the “Toynbee idea” reference) “Experiences,” published at the end of the ’60s by Oxford University Press. The tiles themselves are about the size of a license plate and carved out of linoleum. As Colin See TOYNBEE page 10 >>
Philadelphia bike share will launch next spring with 60 stations and 600 bikes
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