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Clifton Park Resident’s Massive NYC Model Makes Museum Debut

A huge New York City model that took more than two decades to complete is now on display at the Museum of the City of New York. He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model marks the first time the Queens-born artist’s monumental creation is being presented in New York, the city that inspired it.

Joe Macken began the project in 2004. Over the next 21 years, working first in Middle Village, Queens and later in Clifton Park, New York, he crafted a 50-by-27-foot architectural portrait of the city entirely by hand using everyday materials such as balsa wood, cardboard, and glue.

The model spans 320 individual sections and captures the skyline, neighborhoods, and landmarks with remarkable precision and imagination. Macken started with the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, incorporating details that reflect his own artistic interpretation of the city’s character.

The installation is on view in the Museum’s Dinan Miller Gallery, steps from the permanent exhibitions New York at Its Core and Timescapes. Together, they offer visitors a layered look at the city’s evolution, pairing historical exploration with Macken’s sweeping, handcrafted vision of New York’s built environment.

Source: https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/he-built-city