Kentile As a Symbol of Gowanus

The iconic Kentile floor sign can be seen towering over 2nd Ave. and 9th St. Many have adopted it as a symbol of Gowanus. Perhaps that's fitting, as the tiles were extremely toxic.

Forgotten NY says that Kentile was founded by Arthur Kennedy in 1898 and once billed itself as "America's largest manufacturers of super-resilient floor tile."

Kentile filed for Chapter 11 in 1992 following a series of strikes and asbestos lawsuits -- it turns out that the tiles could be made up of as much as 25 percent asbestos.

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.