Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
LEGO Artist Recreates Brooklyn In 400-Square-Foot Living Room
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 7
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Brooklyn's own Jonathan Lopes is currently recreating the urban landscape with that hot new art medium: LEGO bricks! (Note to artists: if you want to go viral, use LEGOS. Or paint on MetroCards.) The huge undertaking is small in scale, as it has to fit inside of Lopes's Boerum Hill living room—you can check out all of his work right here. He told the Daily News, "It's challenging to achieve certain aesthetics with the limitations of the brick. I try to get it as real looking as possible."
The obsession started with, what else, a Star Wars LEGO model he purchased 10 years ago. It was about 4 years ago that he began to work on this current scene, which now nearly takes up his living room's entire 400-square-feet; he told the paper, "I want it to look like what I see every day when I walk to the subway."
The buildings in his plastic city are real spots he frequents or walks past in the borough—the Fairway in Red Hook, the Williamsburg Savings Bank (12,000 LEGO bricks!), and even a gardening shop on Hoyt Street are all there. He's nearly done with the model, which will be broken down for parts upon completion, and currently the aforementioned Savings Bank is on display at a dry cleaners at 391 Pacific Street.
Tagged
brooklyn
jonathan lopes
lego
legos
urban landscape
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .