New York (AFP) – A huge model of New York, painstakingly built over 21 years by an American trucker in his basement, is on display at the City Museum from Thursday.

Published on: 02/11/2026 - 01:03

“It’s almost like arriving on a plane and looking out the window,” describes its creator, Joe Macken, in front of the 15 by 8 meter structure, made up of around 800,000 pieces of wood fixed on more than 300 polystyrene plates.

"People walk around the city all the time but they don't really see it like that. Usually they look up. Now you look down," the 63-year-old continues.

A small departure from reality, the twin towers, destroyed during the attacks of September 11, 2001, appear alongside the new One World Trade Center.

Joe Macken, originally from Queens and now based some 170 miles north of the city, began his model in 2004, spending a few hours in the evening sculpting portions of New York in balsa wood.

A hobby encouraged by his wife and three children, he says.

Two decades later, the author himself was surprised to discover his assembled project. “I look at this and I just say to myself: was it really me who did this?” he told AFP.

Staff at the Museum of the City of New York came up with the idea to display the model after discovering Joe Macken's work on TikTok, where he has millions of views.

Elisabeth Sherman, the museum's chief curator and deputy director, hopes visitors "will find their own stories in the model."

“We want people to find the place where they live, where their family comes from, the places they want to visit, whatever their relationship to the city,” she adds.

Built for the 1964 World's Fair, the largest model of New York -- which is also the largest architectural model in the world (867m2) -- is on display at the Queens Museum.

© 2026 AFP

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