A truck driver spent 20 years making a scale model of every building in NYC

Summary

A Truck Driver Spent 20 Years Making This Astonishing Scale Model of Every Single Building in New York City The 1,350-square-foot model is now on display at the Museum of the City of New York, where visitors can use binoculars to see tiny replicas of all five boroughs The completed model takes up roughly 1,350 square feet. Filip Wolak / Museum of the City of New York In 2004, truck driver Joe Macken created a miniature replica of New York City’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza out of balsa wood. Although he had intended to stop there, he realized he was hooked. “Then the next day, I built another one,” he tells CBS News’ Steve Hartman. “And then I built another one.” Macken kept building for more than two decades. He worked his way through Manhattan and began work on the other boroughs. He made 320 sections—each representing about a square mile of New York—with wooden buildings, painted parks and tiny artificial trees. When he ran out of room at home, he rented a storage unit. The model took more than 20 years to build. David Lurvey / Museum of the City of New York Macken ended up with a 1,350-square-foot model depicting New York City in its entirety. Last summer, his work went viral on TikTok. Many commenters said the model was destined for a museum, and they were right. In February, Macken’s model went on display at the Museum of the City of New York in an exhibition called “He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model.” Visitors can examine the model from all sides, using binoculars to get closer looks at specific neighborhoods. Elisabeth Sherman, the museum’s chief curator and deputy director, tells the Guardian’s Alaina Demopoulos about the first time the staff saw the handmade model. Each section of the model represents roughly one square mile. David Lurvey / Museum of the City of New York “We were all standing around squealing, ‘Look, there’s our museum!’ ‘There’s the Met; there’s the Guggenheim,’” Sherman recalls. “It’s this great act of recognition, and then it’s also witne...