Tile Lives on Forever

This Chinatown door is interesting enough on its own. I mean, look at the crazy amount of detail. The carved doors, the cast iron decorative pillars, the uniquely shaped windows. It's freaking art, this doorway.

But inside, in the vestibule, is where the where the treasure lies. A beautiful, and largely intact, piece of tile work commemorating the men who built the house—either B & M Co. or M & B Co. Can't tell.

Note to developers who want their names to outlive them: Go with tile. Floor ceramics go on forever, and, unlike cornices, always stay in the public view.