See it: Man builds Brooklyn Bridge out of Legos

NEW YORK (PIX11) — A man built one of the most iconic New York City landmarks out of Legos and hopes to get the product on store shelves as an official set.

Ben Jackson has lived in New York City for seven years. He grew up a self-proclaimed “huge bridge nerd” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also known as the “City of Bridges.”

Jackson created a Lego version of the Brooklyn Bridge featuring its chief engineers, Washington and Emily Roebling. He told PIX11 News his inspiration came from a diagram in his living room.

“I realized the brick-laid engineering of this innovative landmark would lend itself perfectly to a Lego set,” Jackson said. “I looked online to see if anyone else had tackled this already, but the few I found were all at a miniature scale, and I wanted to capture those iconic gothic arches as accurately as possible.”

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The Brooklyn Bridge was Jackson’s first large-scale set, standing at 13 inches high. Jackson said he poured himself into the piece. His process was detailed and took about half a month. Jackson used Lego design software that helped find different colors and Lego pieces available for the build. His first design felt squished, he told PIX11 News, but with a few tweaks, he was excited with the results.

While designing the piece, Jackson became enamored by the story of the people who built the bridge.

“The chief engineer, Washington Roebling, inherited the project from his late father – but became bedridden halfway through construction after contracting a terrible lung disease. His wife Emily stepped in to assist and oversee many tasks for him, ultimately carrying the project through to completion,” Jackson said.

Jackson believes the story of the Roeblings brings the whole set together by educating the person while they build the bridge.

“The main draw of this bridge, besides the beautiful design and groundbreaking engineering, is the story behind it – a hardworking family sticking together to preserve their legacy,” Jackson told PIX11 News. “After the paradigm shift of the Civil War, the bridge was an impressive symbol of progress that people could rally around, and it still holds that same hope-filled aura today.”

What’s next for Jackson? He said he started designing a New York City subway car. Jackson told PIX11 News that even though it has been done before, he wants to tackle it in his own way. Jackson would also like to work on a Lego version of the George Washington Bridge in the future.

Jackson submitted the set along with video and pictures to The Lego Group’s “Lego Ideas.” He said it needs 10,000 votes to be turned into a real set that is available for purchase. He aims to get 100 votes a week. Voting is free, and you can vote here.

Jonathan Rizk is a digital journalist who has covered local news in the New York City and Washington D.C. areas. He has been with PIX11 since August 2022. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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