Toynbee tiles — the strange, mosaic rectangles with sci-fi inspired messages embedded into asphalt by an elusive Philadelphia artist — have reappeared in Pennsylvania.Three tiles with elements of the Philly originals were recently spotted on streets in the city’s downtown. Their eerie message is familiar to those with an eye for art, however, one Toynbee tile expert said these Lackawanna County pop-up pieces have different origins than their hometown counterparts.
, in which a crew of explorers are dispatched to the planet Jupiter. And researchers suggest Toynbee is a reference to 20th-century British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, who wrote on human resurrection. In the award-winning 2011 documentary, Weinik and an investigative team of Temple University graduates poured through web archives and letters, concluding that the person behind the original Toynbee tiles could be Severino “Sevy” Verna, a Philadelphia resident.
But when Verna was asked about the tiles, he denied any involvement, and the documentarians have yet to confirm the identity of the mysterious tile-maker. As for why the tiles are being beamed back to the mothership, Ruddy pointed to regulations from the Federal Highway Administration, which consider the tiles an “aesthetic interior treatment,” and ban them.