A little while ago, we ran a story called A Beginner's Guide to Toynbee Tiles - Part I. We tried to elucidate a bit on the odd tiles found embedded in the asphalt at many streets in Philadelphia (and elsewhere) with strange messages engraved upon them. Well, the man in the photo above, Justin Duerr, is the foremost local authority on the topic and is the subject of a documentary in production about his search for the story behind the tiles. We asked him a few questions about the mystery and the film.

Make the jump to see what he had to say...

Justin, give us a brief rundown of how you became embroiled in the mystery of the tiles and a history of the film you're working on.
I began noticing the tiles in the mid 1990s when I worked as a courier by foot in center city. When the internet began to become popular, I was shocked and intrigued to learn that the phenomenon was not specific only to Philadelphia. This deepened my level of interest, which was already pretty intense, and I began making trips to other cities on the east coast to photograph and document the tiles.

The idea for the film was actually seeded in the year 2000 AD, when my friend Jon mentioned that he would like to work on a documentary about the tiles and my investigations. However, the idea was put on hold for half a decade when Jon moved to Texas. Upon his return, however, work began. The film is really Jon's film, it's a popular misconception that I am the one making the movie. I do not have the equipment or the wherewithal to make a documentary movie. Basically, Jon Foy, along with Colin Smith, are doing all the filming and editing. Our friend Steve Weinik has also contributed a wealth of research and help along the way. The film will be a two-tiered story - the story of the tiles and the person who created them, and my story as I investigate and continue on an adventure that has taken so many years to unfold.

I've come across a few allusions to a loony tune on a bus a while back who seemed to know something about the tiles? Am I mistaken, and if not, what was his deal, exactly?
Are you speaking of the Greyhound bus rider alluded to on Toynbee.net? As far as we can tell this was exaggerated or misunderstood by Toynbee.net site administrator Bill O'Neill from the original claim. We have followed up on that, and the original person mentioned seeing the wheatpasted version of the Toynbee message around the Philly Greyhound station in the early 80s, but no actual "street prophet," or "bus prophet," as it were.

Is there any connection between the US tiles and foreign ones, other than style and content? I mean, are there perhaps other "Minority Associations," or is this a case of a few lone tilers?
There are (or were), as far as I can surmise, three tilers. There is the original tiler, active from the early or mid 1980s through 2002, the "new style" tiler, active almost exclusively in Philly from 2002 - present, and a new third tiler, active so far only in the suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana, within the past year.

The South American tiles were most certainly created by the original tiler. There was even a tile in Philly that was also in Spanish, presumably a "leftover" from the South America trip.

I know you are keeping certain discoveries under lock and key until the documentary is released, but can you tell us anything about Railroad Joe and/or the Conrail connection?
I will give you a few tantalizing clues, but I have to stop short at some point, lest we spoil the content of our film. Research the connection between "Spiricom" and Conrail. There was a man involved in the "Spiricom" project who was an electrical engineer at Conrail in Philly around the same time that "Railroad Joe" Piroli worked there.

That should turn up some interesting stuff - it starts to turn into a sci-fi thriller/mystery after not too long! We actually have a friend who is constructing a "Spiricom" style EVP device for the film. Hopefully we can contact Jupiter and get some quotes for the movie!

What about local artist Anthony Campuzano and his works' similarities to the tile font?
He contacted us and said he found the whole thing intriguing, but was not directly inspired by the tiles. Incidentally, though, he and I are both ardent followers of the story of the late Philly icon/martyr Kathy Chang(e).

What is the most recent tile you know of?
There was one that appeared in Indianapolis within the past few months. There has been a spate of new tiles in Philly - one right outside of the 30th St. Station post office - these appeared around 4 months ago.

Has the city said anything officially about the tiles?
Luckily, the Philadelphia streets department has not paid too much attention - all the news media who have contacted them for a quote have come away without one. Sadly, some city street departments such as Chicago have actively destroyed tiles! We have tried contacting the city about preserving the tile on 4th and South - the last of the original style tiles left in the city, which is due to be repaved in spring - but unfortunately we've had no luck. We've been joking around about staging a protest come repaving time and laying in the street to prevent the paving, but hopefully we won't have to take such drastic measures!

When can we expect your film to be available?
It's a long, laborious process, which is not helped by the fact that we have no budget at all, and are simply a group of friends who decided to take this on since it had to be done. This being said, we are all committed to making this the best film it can possibly be - to make it something that represents not just the story of the tiles, but the essence of the city of Philadelphia, and all the stories surrounding the tiles. We want this to be interesting even to people who have never heard of, nor care about, the tiles, at least not going into the movie.

We imagine it will be at least in the editing stages by the end of 2007 AD. I feel somewhat safe saying we should have at least a preview within the next six months, give or take. Hopefully we can eventually get some funding to help promote the film and take it from there. We've received tons of press - a nationally aired piece on NPR and an associated press article, among the more impressive, so hopefully we can drum up some interest in funding the promotion.

The image is taken from Justin's web site, ResurrectDead. Expect Part III after the film comes out, including a review. In the meantime, keeps your eyes on the road in front of your feet. You might be surprised by what you see.