Greenwich Village, New York
Greenwich Village is a LEGO city inspired by the clutter and bustle of the
famed trendy historic district of New York City. Built over the course of 6 months, the
model contains 18 detailed buildings as well as scores of New Yorkish details, from
taxicabs and tourists to parking meters and authentic signage.
Details
The model isn't a "copy" of any particular place, or of any specific
buildings; rather, it imitates the feel of the atmosphere, the clutter,
and the bustle of this bohemian part of Manhattan.
 
In New York, large parts of "The Village" are designated as Historic Districts... most of the buildings are from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and are small and have a lot of character. There are no skyscrapers in this part of New York, and it's always bustling because it has hundreds of places to eat, an active night life, and many charming narrow streets that are serviced by wide, busy avenues. 
In choosing a scale, Sean borrowed from Disney World, where upper floors of buildings are built to a smaller-than-lifesize scale, This gives the structures a "quaint" feeling, while still keeping them large enough to look realistically occupiable. In this model, upper floors are not even tall enough for a LEGO figure to stand, but the effect is that of the real Greenwich Village... a part of the city where buildings are charming, not imposing.  
Street life
At crosswalks, LEGO citizens pause at "don't walk" signs with toes down to the pavement, waiting for a gap in traffic large to cross through.
Workers load packages into a metal door opened up from the sidewalk.
A tourist looks up and pauses to snap a photo, obstructing pedestrian flow on a busy sidewalk.
A turning car tries to squeeze through a line of pedestrians crossing a busy avenue.
Standpipes, subway grates, parking meters... the more you look, the more there is to see! 
Buildings
Murray's BagelsNamed after Sean's favorite New York City bagel place, this little red walkup building has a seperate entrance for the apartments above. Fun details include window air conditioners, venetian blinds, window shades with pullstrings, and a personal satellite dish on the roof. 
StarbucksAlas, New York City cannot go 4 blocks without a Starbucks, and a LEGO New York is no exception. Actually located inside one of the buildings in this Greenwich Village model, this Starbucks has all the amenities needed for a quick but costly caffiene recharge. 
Random Irish PubThis tavern was inspired by one of Sean's favorite Irish pubs, "Fiddlesticks", on Greenwich Street in the West Village. In the model, the front of the pub opens up on nice days, and tables are set up on the sidewalk. Above the tavern is a few floors of apartments, serviced by some fire escapes on the side of the building. 
Residential streetThis residental street contains several different turn-of-the-century walkup townhouses. Note the stone stairways and ironworking , and the unique cornices. The street is also tightly lined with trees, with narrower sidewalks; this is common on many of quieter side streets of the city. (If any part of Manhattan can be considered quiet.) 
Old building with modern additionThis is an early 1900's city walkup that has received a more modern-looking extra floor on the top. The lower section of the building still has fire escapes, and there's a Chinese restaurant at street level. 
Brickfaced "federal" style townhomeA brick facade was simulated by using 3 different shades of red LEGO elements. This small townhome would date back to the early 1800s, and is is squeezed between a tall glass mid-rise and a late 1960s apartment block. 
Joined buildingsThese are two old buildings on a busy street that were eventually bought by the same landlord so that a large avenue-facing retail space could be created. The walls on the ground floor were replaced with plate glass, and the old rear and side windows of the white building were bricked up. 
BrownstoneThe age of this brownstone is evident in its old chimneys that were used for fireplace heat, long ago. It has since been updated with a central air conditioning system, located on the roof. The building is 2 lots wide and, as is common with such buildings, has two seperate entrances serving each half of the building. 
Pre-war elevator buildingThis ornate building has two retail floors downstairs, and offices on the upper floors. The roof is loaded with gizmos: A central air conditioning unit, cell towers, a water tower, etc. The building also has an under-sidewalk loading bay and a garage on its side. 
Parking lotThis is a typical Manhattan parking lot, where the attendants jam as many cars onto the pavement as possible. In the back are lifts that raise cars up high enough to park another underneath, which are very common throughout New York City. (Many people not native to New York often find these to be the most ridiculous looking invention ever.) More pictures
Want to see even more?
There's so much to show, it doesnt fit on one web page! You can see over 75 additional photos
(including details of individual buildings, behind-the-scenes construction, and more) at a
gallery on brickshelf.com. |
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 Media coverage
New York MagazineABC, Fox, and NBC news New York City local news International press PR Newswire Events coverage
Daniel Libeskind ceremonyLEGO Company celebrity event Details in this model
New York City taxisNYPD police cruiser FDNY ambulance FDNY fire truck New York MTA buses Street Vendors FedEx Vans Cargo van with grafitti More LEGO sculptures
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Sean Kenney is a LEGO® Certified Professional officially recognized by The LEGO Group.
Certified Professionals are not employees of The LEGO Group.
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© 1998-2008 Sean Kenney Design LLC