Joe Macken built a tiny, hyperrealistic replica of New York City out of wood and cardboard. The 50-by-27-foot model is now on display in the Museum of the City of New York. Alaina Demopoulos at The Guardian:

“This is all about consistency,” Macken said. “I just started cutting one little house at a time.” It took him 10 years to cover Manhattan, and then another decade to get through the rest of New York.

I love a good obsession.

The New York Times covered the project last summer and again ahead of the move to MCNY.

From the MCNY’s exhibition page:

It renders the city’s skyline, neighborhoods, and landmarks with remarkable precision, character, and imagination. Macken started with the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, infusing its familiar form with details that signal his personal artistic vision.

Shame on MCNY for calling it the “Comcast Building” and not “30 Rock.” I bet they also say “Avenue of the Americas,” not “6th Avenue.”

This bit from the Guardian story made me happy:

In the late 60s and early 70s, Macken watched the twin towers rise from his childhood bedroom window. He remembers seeing cranes hoist girders into the sky. “It was my favorite building,” Macken said. So he put it in the model, which has replicas of both One World Trade Center, which opened in 2014, and the original towers. “No matter what, the [former] World Trade Center was going to be in there,” he said. “That was just a personal thing I wanted to do.”

The twin towers are also dear to me. I’m thrilled they’re represented.