{"id":1905459,"date":"2026-04-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1905459"},"modified":"2026-04-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T21:00:00","slug":"joe-macken-spent-21-years-hand-assembling-a-vast-model-of-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1905459","title":{"rendered":"Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content prose-colossal max-w-none\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default entry-header is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"colo-post-featured-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken1-ezgif.com-resize.gif\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt style=\"object-fit:cover\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image by Rota6 Films. All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group post-title is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0bc941e6 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h1 class=\"alignfull wp-block-post-title\">Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City<\/h1>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-meta is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-27T11:22:00-05:00\">April 27, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms\"><a class=\"category-art\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/art\/\" rel=\"tag\">Art<\/a><a class=\"category-craft\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/craft\/\" rel=\"tag\">Craft<\/a><a class=\"category-design\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/design\/\" rel=\"tag\">Design<\/a><a class=\"category-history\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/history\/\" rel=\"tag\">History<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/author\/kmothes\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Kate Mothes<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-share-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-visible-labels has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-layout-flex wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-is-layout-flex\">\n<li style=\"color: #1c1e0d\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-facebook has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2F2026%2F04%2Fjoe-macken-model-new-york-city%2F&amp;title=Joe%20Macken%20Spent%2021%20Years%20Hand-Assembling%20a%20Vast%20Model%20of%20New%20York%20City\" aria-label=\"Share\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \"><br \/>\n\t\t\tShare\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"color: #1c1e0d\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-mail has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#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\" aria-label=\"Email\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \"><br \/>\n\t\t\tEmail\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><button class=\"simplefavorite-button preset\" data-postid=\"473382\" data-siteid=\"1\" data-groupid=\"1\" data-favoritecount=\"0\"><i class=\"sf-icon-bookmark\"><\/i>Bookmark<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Over the course of two decades, Queens resident Joe Macken meticulously built an entire city from the ground up. In fact, he built New York City\u2014the whole thing\u2014one building, house, and bridge at a time. Now, his expansive scale construction is on view in <em>He Built This City: Joe Macken\u2019s Model<\/em> at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcny.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Museum of the City of New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Macken began working on the 50-by-27-foot model in 2004, first in Middle Village, Queens, before moving to Clifton Park, New York. It comprises 340 individual sections, each built from everyday materials like cardboard and glue, with many of the buildings constructed of balsa wood and detailed with pencil and paint. He completed the structure in 2025, and it\u2019s now on long-term view at the museum, where visitors can walk around it and are encouraged to use binoculars to find familiar buildings and neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-7.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey. All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey. All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey. All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-7.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of a cityscape and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473384\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey. All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You may also enjoy the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/queensmuseum.org\/exhibition\/panorama-of-the-city-of-new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Panorama of the City of New York<\/a>\u201d at the Queens Museum, which was completed in 1964 and took a team of more than 100 people about three years to complete.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-1.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by Filip Wolak\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by Filip Wolak\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by Filip Wolak\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-1.jpg\" alt=\"visitors to the Museum of New York look over an expansive handmade model of the city\" class=\"wp-image-473387\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by Filip Wolak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-5.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1303\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-5.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473391\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-4.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-4.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of a steam ship in an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473390\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-2.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by Filip Wolak\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by Filip Wolak\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by Filip Wolak\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-2.jpg\" alt=\"A young visitor to the Museum of New York looks over an expansive handmade model of the city\" class=\"wp-image-473388\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by Filip Wolak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-8.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-8.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473385\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-6.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-6.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473383\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-3.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-3.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473389\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-9.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473382\" title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_title=\"Photo by David Lurvey\" data-rl_caption=\"Photo by David Lurvey\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/macken-9.jpg\" alt=\"a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City\" class=\"wp-image-473386\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by David Lurvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"after-entry\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"After Entry\">\n<section id=\"block-16\" class=\"widget widget_block widget_text\">\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#88caf0\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong><\/mark> Become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"118516\">Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-17\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-benefits is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hide advertising<\/li>\n<li>Save your favorite articles<\/li>\n<li>Get 15% off in the <a href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/\">Colossal Shop<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Receive members-only newsletter<\/li>\n<li>Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div 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All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City April 27, 2026 ArtCraftDesignHistory Kate Mothes Share Email Bookmark Over the course of two decades, Queens resident Joe Macken meticulously [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,270],"class_list":["post-1905459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-thisiscolossal-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1905459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1905459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1905459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1905459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}