Joe Macken’s 22-Year Journey Crafting a Miniature New York by Hand
On a Sunday evening last summer, Joe Macken revealed to his daughter the significant progress on his ambitious project: a miniature scale model of New York City. It’s a project he’s devoted himself to for over two decades, a labor of love that’s become a tangible reflection of his passion and dedication. “I was done with the city and just continuing on, building Westchester,” Joe recounted during a recent phone call. Encouraged by his daughter’s suggestion to showcase his work on social media, despite never having used such apps before, Macken embarked on a digital journey. After downloading TikTok, he uploaded a blurry three-minute video of his model city, focusing on downtown Manhattan landmarks, including the Twin Towers — a favorite of his, alongside One World Trade Center. Within a week, the video had garnered an astounding 10 million views, highlighting a keen universal interest in his detailed craftsmanship.
The extensive handmade model now graces the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) as part of an ongoing exhibition titled “He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model,” located in the Museum’s Dinan Miller Gallery. This monumental feat, constructed entirely from wood — primarily balsa wood — cardboard, and glue, covers an impressive area of 50 by 27 feet (~15.2 x 8.2 m) and consists of 342 sections, much like a giant puzzle. Elisabeth Sherman, the museum’s deputy director and chief curator, described how the museum’s install team meticulously organized and assembled the panels by borough, utilizing a systematic numbering reference created by Joe. Visitors to the museum can marvel at this massive model, observing its intricacies through strategically placed binoculars.
This intricate scale model is not Macken’s first homage to New York City. His prior creation was a hybrid bridge model — a blend of the Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Manhattan Bridges — made from tongue depressors, stretching six feet long and one foot high. Unfortunately, it sustained damage during a family move from Long Island to Clifton Park in 2004, which prompted him to embark on constructing the complete five boroughs. A truck driver by profession, Macken’s passion for building dates back to his childhood. “I used to play with Lincoln Logs and Legos,” he reflected. A formative first-grade field trip to the Queens Museum, showcasing the Panorama of New York City — a model constructed for the World’s Fair — left a lasting inspiration. A young Macken vowed to his classmate, “I’m going to build one of these myself one day.” Though he didn’t commence until his forties, he eventually fulfilled that promise.
Starting with 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown, Macken methodically expanded the model from the center outwards. Recollecting his days in Middle Village, Queens, he’d admired the distant views of the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building from his bedroom window. However, visualizing 30 Rock required a closer look, achievable only by venturing across the street into the park. Following 30 Rock, Macken meticulously crafted St. Patrick’s Cathedral and continued a similar process with other city structures, gradually populating his miniature metropolis with landmarks, neighborhoods, and waterways over the span of 22 years.
Elisabeth Sherman was among the millions who admired Macken’s viral artistry and follow-up videos expressing her fascination with artists whose extraordinary passion merits celebration and sharing. Visitors exploring the exhibit often search for familiar places in the model; some successfully locate personal landmarks like apartments and birthplaces. Macken delights in witnessing these interactions, confirming, “It’s so fun watching people’s reactions.”
The model invites comparisons to a naïf city plaything, possessing a sweetly cartoonish charm with buildings that, while relatively boxy, faithfully represent New York’s spirit. Early materials included maps and photographs, but technological advances like Google Maps later accelerated his modeling process. This attention to detail drew curious visitors who searched for meaningful spots like soccer fields or schools — a task Joe gladly assists with during his exhibition visits.
This endeavor resonates profoundly, embodying the allure of miniatures. Simon Garfield, journalist and author, noted how miniatures allow us to appreciate more with less. Macken’s project spans beyond a mere replica; it embodies the magic of New York City itself — a city too vast to wholly know or understand, yet inviting in its intricate portrayal.
A recent return to his old Queens neighborhood invoked nostalgia for Macken, considering it appeared unchanged except for trees that now obstruct views of the iconic skyline. In the spirit of continuous expansion, Macken plans to extend his miniature world. His ongoing construction, from adding 30 more feet encompassing Westchester to eventually incorporating Newark Airport and regions like Meadowlands and Nassau County out to Plainview — where his mother resides — signifies a lifelong dedication to capturing the fabric of not just a city, but personal and shared histories. As Macken himself affirmed, “I’ll never, ever, ever be finished with it