A new custom LEGO® kit from Village Preservation and the creative agency Peacham renders the quaint streets of Greenwich Village even more charming in miniature form. The limited edition set isn’t just cute, it uses play for a purpose. All sale proceeds support Village Preservation’s mission of preserving the architectural heritage and cultural history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo.
“Greenwich Village is known and beloved throughout the world for its charming architecture, quirky streets, and rich history,” Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation, said in a press release, “The Greenwich Village Building Set captures so much of this neighborhood’s centuries-long history and delightful landmarks, and you get the joy of watching it come to life under your own hand.”
Overhead photo Courtest of Village Preservation/Peacham
The Greenwich Village Building Set is made of 449 authentic LEGO® bricks. Those bricks allow you to loosely recreate the streetscape that stretches from Seventh Avenue South to University Place. Well-known sites like Village Cigars and the Hess Triangle, New York City’s smallest plot of land, are included in the set. A rainbow pride flag stands outside the tiny Stonewall Inn, a landmark known as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement. Multi-colored and arched-shaped LEGO® bricks mimic the dramatic Gothic elements on the facade of the Jefferson Market Library and colorful flower-shaped bricks surround the carriage houses of MacDougal Alley, Washington Square Park, the Washington Arch, and the Greek Revival rowhouses of Washington Square North.
Recreating the iconic signage of Greenwich Village was integral to capturing the neighborhood’s character. Christopher Devine, founder and creative director of Peacham, worked with type designer Tré Seals of Vocal Type Company to get the signs for Village Cigars and the Stonewall Inn just right. In a press release, Devine pointed out the eccentricities of Village Cigars’ sign, noting it is “an assemblage of handmade letters characterized by rounded serifs and dramatic swashes. Close inspection reveals that these letters vary in height, width, weight, and axis, sometimes within a single word.” Seals recreated these quirks with stunning accuracy in the miniature model.
Seals also designed the custom typeface that appears on The Stonewall sign. Titled Marsha after LGBTQ+ activist and Stonewall Uprising veteran Marsha P. Johnson, the font was inspired by a lost sign that hung on the building until 1989.
Jefferson Market Courthouse 1935 New York Public LibraryWashington Square North 1948 Nat Kaufman Village Preservation ArchiveMacDougal Alley 1936 New York Public LibraryWashington Square Park 1936 New York Public Library
A 92-page booklet accompanying the set contains step-by-step instructions, historical information about the places depicted, and many historical images. The sepia-toned images show features of Greenwich Village from the early 20th century that are still around today and some elements lost to time.
Overhead photo Courtest of Village Preservation/Peacham
Greenwich Village Building Sets are currently on sale for $199 each. Only 250 are available in this initial run, so don’t wait to grab your own! Devine hopes this set “inspires the next generation of architects, activists, historians, and preservationists.”
Nicole Saraniero is the Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York, leading our Untapped New York Insiders membership program. Nicole graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Televis
