Beginning in 2004, Joe Macken carved all five boroughs of New York City out of balsa wood, every site and stadium, and every bridge and building. His creation consists of almost one million structures. Steve Hartman has the story.
Finally tonight, the story of a man who built an entire city in his basement. The secret to his success– a solid foundation. Here’s Steve Hartman on the road.
STEVE HARTMAN: In the spring of 2004, a truck driver named Joe Macken descended his basement stairs in Clifton Park, New York, with a simple idea– to see if he could build something cool out of balsa wood.
JOE MACKEN: Just to build one building– that was my goal.
STEVE HARTMAN: He decided on a miniature replica of the RCA building in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. Mission accomplished.
JOE MACKEN: And that was going to be it. That was it. And then the next day, I built another one.
JOE MACKEN: Built another one.
JOE MACKEN: And then I built another one.
STEVE HARTMAN: Was there at some point in this whole process where you ever thought to yourself, I’ve gone too far?
JOE MACKEN: Never.
STEVE HARTMAN: Not even after he built all of Rockefeller Center, not even after he built all of Midtown, not even after he built all of Manhattan. Eventually, Joe urban-sprawled his way to this storage facility.
STEVE HARTMAN: Each one of those squares represents about one square mile of New York City. And for more than two decades now, they have just been piling up. And what were you going to do with this?
JOE MACKEN: I was just going to look at it. I don’t know what I was going to do. I had no plans. I mean, I never imagined it being in a museum.
STEVE HARTMAN: And yet, here we are. For the first time, Joe’s Little Apple is going on display in the Big Apple here at the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibit, which opens Thursday, includes all five Boroughs– every site and stadium, every bridge and building– almost a million structures, all carved by that one man. But the most amazing statistic is you’re still married to the same woman.
TRISH / INTERVIEWER: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: How do you explain that?
JOE MACKEN: I don’t know. It’s a miracle.
INTERVIEWER: That’s a good word for it.
STEVE HARTMAN: Joe says Trish has been remarkably understanding, at least so far.
JOE MACKEN: Definitely.
STEVE HARTMAN: He’s planning on doing this for a few more decades.
JOE MACKEN: Oh, all right. Well, he might not have shared that– those details with me.
JOE MACKEN: I’ll just keep going. I’ll build all of New York State if I have to. It’ll never be finished, ever.
STEVE HARTMAN: Joe Macken didn’t set out to create a masterpiece. And yet, here a masterpiece lies before him. Because greatness is really nothing more than a million tiny steps, and occasionally a spouse to at least tolerate the journey. Steve Hartman on a tiny road in New York City.
STEVE HARTMAN: Steve, that is beautiful. I’m going to that exhibit. That is another day in America, ladies and gentlemen. For all of us here at CBS News, I’m Tony Dokoupil. Thank you for joining us this week. It’s been wonderful. We’ll see you back here on Monday. Good night. Have a great weekend.