Daily life for the young lad growing up in Queens would have him staring out his bedroom window, eyes fixed upon the distant outline of the World Trade Center as it sliced through the New York City skyline. This view, history now, would become the spark for an unprecedented 21-year-long journey. An unnamed artist, known on TikTok as @balsastyrofoam300, has spent over two decades hand-carving a miniature replica of New York City from balsa wood, a project that has recently captured hearts across social media.
The model is staggering in scope: 50 feet long, 30 feet wide, and encompassing all five boroughs Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. With nearly 1 million buildings, the replica includes iconic landmarks like the Freedom Tower, the Woolworth Building, and even the Twin Towers, preserved as a nod to the city’s past.
“This is the World Trade Center,”
the creator says in a viral TikTok video, pointing to a meticulously carved section of downtown Manhattan.
“I kept it in my favorite buildings.”
With 350 sections, the model includes subtle details, from the 1913 Woolworth Building’s Art Deco steeple to the Wall Street business district, including 40 Wall Street and the American International Building. Strategically hand-crafted individually, each component is of a city that is both personal history and historical narrative.
The project exploded into public view in July 2025, thanks to TikTok and X posts that garnered thousands of likes and shares. Outlets like Not the Bee and Trending American praised the creator’s dedication, with comments calling it
“a dream come true for every New Yorker.”
On Reddit, users marveled at the claim of nearly 1 million buildings, though some questioned its feasibility.
“NYC has about that many buildings in real life,”
one user noted,
“but carving that many? That’s wild.”
To put that into perspective, Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York, built as part of the 1964 World’s Fair by more than 100 workers, is comprised of around 895,000 buildings. To compare, that institutional work was created by only one person, without funds or corporate sponsorship.
More than its technical success, the model is of immense sentimental value. By incorporating the Twin Towers, the artist is offering tribute to a city that has experienced loss and change.
“This is my tribute to New York’s complexity and resilience,”
he described in a later post, highlighting his own affection for the city’s history. Every sculpted building, from the Manhattan Courthouse to Battery Park, is the story of city life, memory, and resolve.
This man spent 21 years building a wooden replica of New York City with almost a million buildings from all five boroughs 😳pic.twitter.com/LmRoDRgdXM
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) July 18, 2025
Even though the model is not yet on public view, its online popularity has lent momentum to calls for an exhibition at the museum. Until that day, however, @balsastyrofoam300 continues to upload samples of his work, vowing to reveal still other parts, including Battery Park and the New York Harbor, in future videos. What began as a childhood dream has gained global popularity, proving that the determination of an individual can save the spirit of an entire city.
