In the 1950s, a 23-year-old Guy Miller set out to build a model of Manhattan, a dream he had since he was a young boy. His project was funded by the inspirational speaker that motivated him to follow through with his dream, Anthony Norvell, and in 1956 LIFE magazine documented his progress. At the time they took these photos, he had completed Midtown Manhattan, as well as the Wall Street area—"complete with every office building, brownstone, bar and grill." The model was "on a cliff in Union City, New Jersey."
The structures were made of paper and glass, with a scale of 1/2 inch to a floor. The magazine estimated he had another three years ahead of him before he'd finish the 62,000 buildings he aimed to.
The model was seen by many, in the windows of Gimbels and Saks, and at exhibitions, like one on Coney Island in 1956, where he recalled, "a baby got lost for two hours in the model, and turned up on 8th Avenue... atop the Port Authority." That anecdote was told in 1974, when Miller gained some press after having to collect his model, which at the time was being stored in the basement of a Queens shoe shop. His model being evicted, and being strapped on cash himself, he was trying to get the city to save his creation.
So there's the mystery... where is it now?
