Library to host 'Newburyport Miniatures'
Jul. 28—NEWBURYPORT — For those interested in seeing the entire city all at once without having to be up in a helicopter or plane, a local retiree has the solution.
David Vine, who has lived in Newburyport for more than 40 years, has built a miniature representation of the city and will be sharing it with the rest of the community at Newburyport Public Library starting Tuesday.
The retired waterfront engineer said he has always been a big fan of model trains. Recently, however, he discovered his passion wasn't really in the trains themselves, but more in the artificial towns and landscapes the cars would pass through.
So he began focusing on constructing miniature, wooden local buildings, beginning with a replica of his Marlborough Street home (complete with his mailman, Jake) about 10 years ago.
"I really enjoy doing real things, more than doing my kits. So I started with my home on Marlborough Street and then my old house on Oak Street and then it grew from there," Vine said.
The 73-year-old soon found himself building miniature replicas of local homes, businesses and landmarks, such as Old South Presbyterian Church, The Pink House, The Thirsty Whale, Oldies Marketplace, Dyno Records, The Grog and The Screening Room.
Looking for some pictures of antique advertisements, Vine approached the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center and soon found a fan in senior librarian and archivist Sharon Spieldenner.
"He invited me over to his house at one point and he has this giant table over there with a train that includes this kind of diorama that goes around the table and there are all these little Newburyport buildings. It's pretty neat," Spieldenner said.
Spieldenner suggested Vine set up an exhibit of his models just outside the Archival Center last spring and he agreed.
Vine's exhibit will be on display until Sept. 30, Mondays through Thursdays, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and Fridays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Vine is working on his miniature Tracy Mansion and he will be celebrating Yankee Homecoming with a free "Newburyport Miniatures" presentation in the library's Program Room on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
"I'm going to introduce myself and go over how I got here and then I'm going to talk about each of the models in the order I did them," he said.
Library Director Sara Kelso said she is excited to host Vine's presentation next week.
"This has been a very popular exhibit here at the library and it does highlight some of the history and preservation in town," she said.
The models have also become more ambitious of late, with Vine including photographs such as the windows of Angie's Food and Diner that show the reflection on Pleasant Street and the windows of The Screening Room advertising showings of "The Godfather," "Harold and Maude," "Forrest Gump," and "Elf," along with owners Ben and Becca Fundis standing in the front door.
"That's something I really like doing," Vine said.
For more information about Vine and his exhibit, go to The Newburyport Public Library Archival Center's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/nplarchives/.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
