
September 18th, 2026
Truck driver Joe Macken spent over 20 years of his free time building a huge scale model of New York City.
He made it from balsa wood and foam board.
His daughter convinced him to show the basement creation on TikTok.
It has over 800,000 structures.
The videos went viral and gained more than 10 million views in one week.
The Museum of the City of New York reached out to him after seeing the videos.
His model is now on display in an exhibit called "He Built This City."
It opened in February near Central Park and runs through Oct. 12.
Macken said he never really thought about finishing it.
He had so much fun building it.
The model covers all five boroughs, plus parts of New Jersey and suburban Long Island.
It sits on more than 300 large foam boards connected like puzzle pieces.
It is 50 feet long and nearly 30 feet wide.
Each inch represents about 160 feet.
The structures are mostly made of light balsa wood.
They range from Manhattan skyscrapers to single-family homes in Queens.
Macken is a Queens native.
He was inspired by a school trip to see the Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum.
He started building in his 40s, after his family moved from Long Island to the Albany area.
He said he might have missed New York.
The model is not an exact copy of today's city.
Macken kept some old landmarks just for himself, including the twin towers and the old Kosciuszko Bridge.
September 18th, 2026

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