Red Mailboxes Are Appearing Across New York City for Valentine’s Season

Where the Red Mailboxes Come From

The red mailboxes are part of the Love Letter Gallery, a seasonal project created by New York–based floral studio POPUPFLORIST. For the second year in a row, the team has placed temporary mailboxes inside small businesses across Manhattan and Brooklyn, inviting people to write handwritten love letters and drop them off anonymously.

The idea is intentionally simple. Write a letter. Drop it in the box. Walk away.

The notes can be addressed to a partner, a stranger, a memory, a place, or New York City itself. There is no required format and no expectation that the writer will ever be identified.

At the end of the collection period, the POPUPFLORIST team selects a small group of letters to be featured in a one-day public exhibition, where each note is paired with a floral installation inspired by its words.

What Happens to the Letters

Not every letter becomes part of the gallery, and that is part of the point. Around 30 selected notes are transformed into floral artworks and displayed at a temporary exhibition space in SoHo in early February. Visitors can walk through, read the letters, and see how words written quietly at a café table or bookstore counter take on a second life as visual art.

The rest of the letters remain private. They are not published, traced, or returned.

Why This Works So Well in New York

New York has a long-standing reputation as a Valentine’s Day city, whether you blame classic rom-coms like Sleepless in Seattle or the fact that everyone here seems to have a story they never quite finished telling. Somewhere between Meg Ryan waiting at the Empire State Building and Tom Hanks finally showing up, the city cemented itself as a place where love is complicated, delayed, and worth writing about.

There is no spectacle with this project. The mailboxes are unmarked and are easy to overlook unless you happen to notice one while going about your day. That small, unforced moment is exactly the point.

It feels optional, not performative.

Where You Might See the Mailboxes

If you are in New York this February, the red mailboxes tend to appear in places people already linger, including:

• Neighborhood cafés

• Independent bookstores

• Boutiques and small shops

• Design and lifestyle stores


Locations rotate each year, but they are always hosted by local businesses rather than public spaces, which keeps the project feeling personal instead of promotional.

Why People Keep Participating

Writing something by hand, anonymously, removes the pressure to be clever, public, or permanent. The letter does not need a response. It does not need to be posted or shared.

For a city that moves quickly and documents everything, the project offers a rare moment that is private, temporary, and finished the moment the letter drops into the slot.

So, if you are in New York this February, keep an eye out. The red mailbox you stumble upon may not change your plans, but it might give you a quiet reason to pause before moving on.

FAQ: Red Mailboxes in New York City

What are the red mailboxes for?


They collect anonymous handwritten love letters as part of the Love Letter Gallery project.

Who created the project?


The project is run by POPUPFLORIST, a New York–based floral design studio.

Do you need to include your name?


No. All submissions are anonymous.

What can you write about?


Anything. Letters can be romantic, platonic, nostalgic, funny, or addressed to New York City itself.

Where are the mailboxes located?


Inside select cafés, boutiques, and bookstores across Manhattan and Brooklyn.

What happens to the letters?


A small number are selected for a public art exhibition. The rest remain private.

Is this only for locals?


No. Anyone in the city during the collection period can participate, including visitors.