New York – After more than two decades of weekend work, truck driver Joe Macken’s sprawling scale model of his native New York City is now on public view at the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibit, titled “He Built This City,” opened in February on Manhattan’s museum row near Central Park and will run through October 12.
From a basement hobby to a museum centerpiece
Macken, a Queens native who now lives in upstate New York, began the project in his spare time using basic balsa wood and foam board. He started with Rockefeller Center’s iconic “30 Rock” tower and spent roughly ten years building out Midtown Manhattan before expanding to the five boroughs, parts of New Jersey, and suburban Long Island.
The finished model stretches 50 feet long (about 15 meters) and nearly 30 feet wide (about 9 meters). Each inch on the model represents roughly 160 feet of the real city. More than 800,000 individual structures—skyscrapers, single‑family homes, the Statue of Liberty, Yankee Stadium, the Brooklyn Bridge, and countless other landmarks—dot the miniature landscape.
Family inspiration and viral fame
Macken says the idea traces back to an elementary‑school field trip to the Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York, a historic model built for the 1964‑65 World’s Fair. He first shared his own creation on TikTok after his daughter encouraged him to do so. The short videos quickly went viral, amassing over 10 million views in a single week and catching the museum’s attention.
“I never really thought about finishing it because I had so much fun building it,” Macken told museum staff during a recent visit. His dedication is evident: he would bring materials on family trips to the New Jersey shore and even work on the model while driving a bus on weekends.
Curatorial perspective
Elisabeth Sherman, chief curator of the Museum of the City of New York, praised the model as a rare piece that bridges social‑media audiences and traditional museum goers. “People always want to get their arms around this whole city, this city that is impossible to know, impossible to grasp, and this is a way to see it from a bird’s‑eye view,” Sherman said. “We rarely have anything these days that reaches everyone in that way. We love that kind of energy it brings.”
Personal touches and historical quirks
While the model is not a perfect snapshot of today’s skyline, Macken deliberately included personal and historical details. In Queens he recreated his favorite childhood diner rather than the modern high‑rise now occupying the site. He also retained the old Kosciuszko Bridge, which was demolished in 2017, and kept the twin towers of the World Trade Center standing alongside One World Trade Center and newer skyscrapers.
“I kept a lot of my own parts of the city, just for me,” he explained.
Visitor experience
Visitors to the exhibit can explore the miniature metropolis from a raised platform, using provided binoculars or simply squinting to locate familiar neighborhoods. One visitor, Washington, D.C. resident Jonathan Skolnik, traced his family’s migration across the five boroughs, pointing out his father’s first address on the Lower East Side and the cemetery where relatives are buried.
Future expansion
When the exhibit closes on Columbus Day, Macken hopes to take the model on the road, displaying it in other venues. He also plans to add more than 50 new buildings and extend the layout into New Jersey and Long Island.
Joe Macken’s dedication reminds us that a single individual’s passion can create a lasting tribute to the city that shaped his life, offering both locals and tourists a unique way to connect with New York’s rich tapestry.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
