Artist and metalsmith Kate Speranza pays tribute to Astoria’s century-old sidewalk vault lights in a show that includes jewelry and painting. Vault lights are a historic element in many cities, grids of glass prisms created to provide natural light into subterranean spaces. These originally colorless prisms were installed in Astoria's sidewalks in the 1920s when the downtown was rebuilt after the great fire. Decades of UV exposure have given them an amethyst hue. 

Speranza has made 100 brooches, enough to emulate the 100 squares of an actual sidewalk vault grid. Each one-of-a-kind brooch is 1.25" square and depicts a unique light in the grid. They are created from salvaged fragments of sidewalk glass, bits of wood, and collected materials set in sterling silver. Displayed for the show just as they would appear in a sidewalk grid, each is available separately. In addition to the brooches, an abundant selection of Speranza’s collection of Astoria Sidewalk Glass jewelry is included in the show: rings, earrings, and pendants. Lending context is Speranza’s latest painting, a depiction of an Astoria sidewalk vault grid with its mysterious, gritty patina developed through a century of wear and tear underfoot.