Truck driver’s 800,000-piece NYC model opens at Manhattan museum

Joe Macken, a truck driver from upstate New York, spent more than 20 years crafting a 50-foot-long, 30-foot-wide scale model of New York City using balsa wood and foam board, featuring over 800,000 structures. A TikTok video of the model went viral, prompting the Museum of the City of New York to feature it in a new exhibit called “He Built This City,” which opened in February near Central Park and runs until Oct. 12. Chief curator Elisabeth Sherman said the work offers a rare, immersive way for both online followers and museum visitors to visualize the metropolis.

The model includes landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Yankee Stadium and the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as personal touches like a childhood diner and the former Kosciuszko Bridge. Visitors can explore the display with binoculars, tracing familiar neighborhoods and family histories. Macken hopes to expand the model beyond the museum’s walls after the exhibit closes.