Jim Schaefer

Detroit Free Press

Garrett%27s recreation of the Fisher Building weighs 300 pounds and has approximately 120%2C000 pieces.

%22All the Lego are standard Lego pieces. ... I don%27t use any paint. I haven%27t used any glue.%22

%22Most of the %28Detroit%29 buildings that I%27ve modeled haven%27t been modeled by anyone in Lego before.%22

Jim Garrett put away his Legos when he was a kid.

But a decade ago, inspired by the "Lord of the Rings" movies, Garrett, now 51, constructed a Lego tower. And now, well, he's gone kind of nuts over his renewed hobby.

Crammed into a bedroom of his Redford Township home, Garrett has recreations of downtown Detroit buildings. There's the Griswold, which is nice. But you've got to get a load of the Fisher Building, in all its grandeur. The Golden Tower stands at least 6 feet tall, and his model includes the theater, parking deck and all.

If you want to see more — including his latest, a stunning version of the renowned Guardian Building — visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, where some of Garrett's creations are on display until Jan. 4.

QUESTION: Why the Fisher Building? You picked one of Midtown's gems.

ANSWER: Well, I like Art Deco architecture. It kind of symbolizes a certain modernity and optimism that I like.

Explain to me how you would go about building the Fisher Building. I mean, there's not an instruction manual out there that says, "Put Lego here."

Well, I do kind of use and trial-and-error method. There are different methods that various Lego builders use. But basically I gather a bunch of photos. ... Usually, I just make a drawing to kind of work off the proportions ... the windows, how far apart they are, all that stuff. Once you get those proportions worked out for a small section of the building, the rest extrapolates itself almost.

Who would think they make the kind of Legos where you could construct a building like that.

Well, actually, most of these Lego are from kits that were available in stores. All the Lego are standard Lego pieces. ... I don't use any paint. I haven't used any glue. So every single piece in this building is the color it came out on the set. One thing that helped, though, besides the sets, is a site called bricklink, where you can order mass quantities of parts.

Yeah, I was gonna ask you, what, do you order a dump truck full of beige bricks?

Yeah, pretty much.

So you don't have to go pilfering little kids' sets.

That's right.

How many bricks would you say are in the Fisher Building that you've got here?

The full model when it's on display includes the Fisher Theatre and the parking garage as well as the building itself. With that all assembled, it weighs almost 300 pounds and it's got approximately 120,000 individual Lego pieces in it.

120,000 pieces. Any idea how long it took you to put this one together?

Probably several hundred hours over a number of months. Five or six months, at least.

And your latest creation is the world-renowned Guardian Building from downtown Detroit.

Right, in approximately the same scale, so that's a little taller — it's 8 feet high. And it doesn't have as big a footprint, but I put a little more detail into it and it ended up weighing in at about 180 pounds or maybe even 190 pounds with about 80,000 parts.

This can't be inexpensive. Does it cost a lot to build the Fisher Building out of Legos?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's four figures. I think it's about $2,000, maybe $2,500. But since I build it over a long time ... it's more like a $150-a-month habit. (Laughs.)

Have you had any Lego disasters while you're creating these babies?

Actually, yes. This is the third version of the Fisher Building. The first one was built of white bricks, and I made the sections too large. So when I tried moving it, it collapsed. ... I learned my lesson and built it stronger the next time. The reason why there's a third version is that when I was able to get the tan bricks cheaper I decided to make it, to use that color to represent the current appearance of the building. Because I think it was white when it was first built. ... I believe the marble has aged over the years.

I was looking at a list of your creations and some of them say "destroyed." Was that on purpose? Do you get out a little tiny crane and little tiny wrecking ball, or was that accidental?

(Laughs.) No, I don't really play with the Lego, I like the act of building. That alone is satisfying, somehow.

Sure, but were they destroyed on purpose?

Yes. For example, I took apart the (Detroit Institute of Arts) model because I was planning on building a better version. I just haven't gotten around to the better version yet.

You take this very seriously. What is it about doing this process that you love?

Well, I guess I just like the act of making something. ... Most of the buildings that I've modeled haven't been modeled by anyone in Lego before. Usually, people, if they make a skyscraper, it's the Empire State Building or the World Trade Center, something like that.

You're not interested in doing abandoned buildings.

No, it's not my intention to showcase the run-down parts of Detroit. I like to celebrate the architecture.

Showing the beauty.

Yeah.

Contact Jim Schaefer: 313-223-4542 or jschaefer@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DetroitReporter.