Blue-and-white tiled street names embedded in New Orleans sidewalks add to the historic charm of the city. The tiles with their characteristic fonts were manufactured in Belgium in the late nineteenth century.
Below: the tiles on the corner of Dante and Freret Streets in the Leonidas neighborhood
Over the decades, these appealing tiles have deteriorated—many are cracked and have missing letters, or else they have disappeared entirely. Below is an easy fix for a missing letter on Joliet Street. At least there was an attempt to approximate the font!
Below, the “E” tile is missing for Elm Street.
Contractors laying new concrete sidewalks can incur hefty fines if they don’t remove and replace these historic tiles. Were the blank tiles below on Fern Street a contractor’s idea of thumbing his nose at City Hall’s requirements?
Click here for more information about these tiles, which are in danger of gradually disappearing.
All photos by Camille Martin
Rogue Embryo 