[PRIVATE LINK] Street Tiles Lost, Street Tiles Found

I got off the airport bus and was surprised to see fresh asphalt. So fresh, in fact, I could still smell it in the air even after the summer sun had gone down—a scent that hadn’t been there when I stood in the same spot a week ago.

It made sense. There’d been a ton of recent development along this specific street and who knew how long since it’d been re-paved, but, this also signaled that a few street tiles were probably lost.

It took a while until I had the time to do a full survey, but I knew I needed to get moving when I was caught in the haze of another civic re-paving effort a few days later:

So, after a mid-July excursion to check on all known tiles, I was initially able to document that the following examples have been lost:

No. 23-03:

Coincidentally, this had been the first tile I noticed during the “second wave.”

No. 23-06:

No. 23-07:

No. 23-10:

Sadly, one example in this group was an “original” House of Hades example (and a personal favorite):

No. 3:

Despite losing five tiles to routine road repair, several more still remained throughout the city. And while going about this latest survey—I also came across four new (to me) FISH LOGS examples:

FL-05:

*I’d apparently walked passed this one numerous times, but it was pretty much gone by the time I finally noticed it.*

FL-06:

FL-07:

FL-08:

Then, coincidentally while working on these updates, I received a copy of Fluke Fanzine in the mail:

Back in 2019, the good people of Fluke were kind enough to assist me in getting a piece of a partially-removed street tile back to folk artist buZ blur (who’d collaborated with House of Hades on several examples). Sadly, buZ has since passed, but the publication continues and their 35th anniversary edition features a great piece about street tiles by Jessica Manack.

I really appreciate that one of my photographs was included in not just this story, but Fluke in general (alongside work from the always wonderful Pittsburgh Orbit).

Though no new House of Hades tiles have appeared in Cincinnati since 2023, Jessica mentioned something interesting about a tile she’d recently come across in Boston. One which reads: “Talking statues of Rome.”

“The Field Guide has been updated to reflect the latest tile count and statuses.”

• • •

…that’s where I originally finished this particular post.

I’d saved my last draft, prepped it for publishing, grabbed a deck of cards, and went to meet my friends at the bar. It was a good way to end a productive day.

However, after I’d sauntered home and grabbed the dog for a late-night walk—I yet again smelled something familiar in the air.

*Yet another Cincinnati street undergoes extensive re-paving.*

And then my fears were confirmed the next morning…

…two more tiles lost:

No. 2:

While a section of No. 2 was preserved in 2019, the entire piece is now gone.

No. 23-08:

The loss of a further two tiles isn’t the end of this particular chapter in the overall story, though…

…the story continues and the Field Guide has been updated to reflect the latest tile count and statuses.

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