Trinity Church, reconstructed
Earlier this summer the historic Trinity Church in Albany partially collapsed and had to be demolished. Now it's reborn -- in LEGO.
Bill Leue, a computer scientist and accomplished LEGO builder, has re-created the church with the building blocks -- based largely on Chuck Miller's photoset of the church's demolition. Bill writes: "Currently only the facade and the towers are included in the model. I hope to model the entire church in the near future."
You should check out the handful of photos he's posted of the Trinity reconstruction. Some of the detail is remarkable.
Bill adds in an email to us: "I have long been interested in architecture of all kinds, and Albany is loaded with great examples from many periods and styles. I thought it was a tragedy when Trinity was demolished, and so I built the model as a kind of homage."
This is at least the second local historic re-creation Bill's built. Back in 2009, he finished a reconstruction of a block of Elm Street in Albany.
photo: Bill Leue
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Comments
Bill, any estimate on the number of bricks you've used so far, and how many more you'll need to finish the entire model?
... said B on Aug 30, 2011 at 2:52 PM | link
This was such a tragedy for Albany that this was needlessly torn down. Both the Jennings Administration and Historic Albany should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen- it is inexcusable.
... said Peter Lacovara on Aug 30, 2011 at 3:29 PM | link
Peter, this is a chronic problem in the area for sure, and it's primarily due to absentee landlords. I'm not sure what solution the mayor's office or any historical foundation could implement; should eminent domain claims be made? How do you suggest they not let this happen?
... said B on Aug 30, 2011 at 4:48 PM | link
Well, I don't count the bricks while I build :-) So estimating by two crude measures (cost of bricks vs. area) I get somewhere between 5000 and 8000 bricks for Phase 1. Completing the church will take about 4 times that many more bricks, so lets say somewhere around 25,000 bricks.
When the building is complete, I generally make a CAD model using MLCad, so this gives me an accurate count.
By the way, sometime in November I will be doing a demo build of at least part of the model at the Albany Institute of History and Art.
... said Bill Lreue on Aug 30, 2011 at 6:09 PM | link
Bill,
From one LEGO maniac to another: Your work is phenomenal! I'd really be interested to see more, perhaps even exhibited at the Albany Museum of History and art, or even the State Museum? It's that amazing! I'd even bet people would be willing to PAY to see a larger collection. Perhaps you should be commissioned by Albany2030 to build a scale model of Albany so the citizens can get a feel of what and how we can change this city for the better? I'm only half joking :-P
... said daleyplanit on Aug 31, 2011 at 1:38 PM | link
Thanks Bill, I understand, that's why I said estimate ;)
Lego was a part of my formative years along with I'm sure many others, so I echo daleyplanit's comments; man that is awesome, and I'd love to see more.
... said B on Aug 31, 2011 at 3:03 PM | link