tiles

THE MULRY SQUARE TILE PROJECT

Mulry Square, at 7th and Greenwich Avenues in the Village, is named for Emigrant Savings Bank President Thomas Mulry (d. 1916), a tireless contributor to Catholic charitable causes, notably the Society of St. Vincent De Paul. The square is across the street from St. Vincent's Hospital (who hasn't wound up there late at night at one time...?)

Seemingly spontaneously after 9/11/01 the chain link fence surrounding a parking lot on Mulry Square sprouted ceramic tiles (like the ones in your bathroom) with messages of hope and positivity for NYC's future. Hardly maudlin but heartfelt, the tiles are mostly devoid of calls for revenge but ask for renewal and rebuilding. I thought Forgotten NY should show a few of them on the anniversary of the awful day. In reality, the tiles are sponsored by the Contemporary Ceramic Studios Association, and if you would like to contribute a tile, you're advised to contact them.

St. Vincent's Hospital has retained a 'wall of hope and remembrance' with the fliers of people missing after the towers were destroyed.

E me at erpietri@earthlink.net