The road to the White House
Posted by CapnRex101,
After months of campaigning the day of the 2016 US presidential election has finally arrived and the eyes of the world are fixed firmly on the outcome. As the polls close and the counting commences we are taking a look at the fifteen LEGO Architecture sets based on buildings found across the United States of America.
These models are spread from Seattle in the west to New York in the east and illustrate a wide range of architectural periods and styles. Discover the LEGO route to the White House after the break...
Washington
Washington holds twelve votes in the electoral college and has supported the Democratic nominee in every election since 1988, a trend which is likely to continue this year. The majority of the population is centred around Seattle, the home of the world famous Seattle Space Needle which formed part of the second wave of LEGO Architecture sets in 2009. The set is owned by over 4000 Brickset members, a figure surpassed by only two other Architecture models.
Illinois
Illinois is traditionally considered a safe state for the Democrats but rural areas have often favoured the Republican party and Kendall County is one such region. Farnsworth House, designed by Ludwig Mies van de Rohe, is found in the north of the county and joined the Architecture range in 2011 as part of the Architect Series.
Chicago, on the other hand, typically leans heavily towards the Democrats and was the headquarters for Barack Obama during his successful 2008 and 2012 election campaigns. The third largest city in the US will soon be rendered as an Architecture Skyline model and is already represented by three sets based on the Robie House, the John Hancock Centre and Willis Tower, although this number increases to four if the original Sears Tower model is also taken into consideration.
Pennsylvania
While Illinois and Washington are considered safe Democratic states, the twenty electoral college votes offered by Pennsylvania will be among the most hotly contested in this election. Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is located in the west of the state and is an icon of modernist architecture which was released as part of the Architect Series subtheme in 2009. This was the largest Architecture set yet at the time of its release and its piece count of 811 was not surpassed until 2011.
New York
New York has not voted for the Republican party since 1984 and that seems unlikely to change in this election. However, New York City is an important site for the candidates as both are headquartered there and they each have long-standing connections with the area. Donald Trump was born in Queens and still lives in the city today while Hillary Clinton served as Senator for New York from 2001 until 2009. The 'Big Apple' was celebrated by the largest of the first three Skyline sets released earlier this year.
A total of five Architecture sets based on buildings in New York City have been released so far, more than any other city. These include the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building and the Solomon Guggenheim Museum which will be the subject of another model in January next year.
Properties owned or associated with Donald Trump, of which there are many in New York, have not yet been seen in the Architecture range but the Rockefeller Centre is a little over 500 metres from Trump Tower and Trump World Tower, a residential skyscraper, is roughly the same distance from the United Nations Headquarters which is among the most highly rated Architecture sets.
Washington DC
Washington DC is the seat of government and all three of the Architecture sets released to date relate to this role. Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth US president and is often considered among the most successful so it was decided in the early twentieth century that his life and accomplishments should be celebrated. Construction of the Lincoln Memorial began in 1914 and a 274-piece Architecture set was released 101 years later, complete with a statue of the seated president inside.
The Capitol Building accommodates the House of Representatives and the Senate, seats in both of which are being contested during this election season. The model released in September is wider than any other Architecture set and also features a small section of the interior which is very unusual. Eight nanofigures are found inside to represent the central rotunda and its impressive collection of statues.
The ultimate prize in this election is represented by the White House which is perhaps the most famous residence anywhere in the world. A model consisting of 560 pieces was released in 2011 and it is still available in several countries which is testament to the enormous popularity and recognition of the building.
The forty-fifth president will be moving into the White House on the 20th of January 2017 and I look forward to finding out who that will be in the next few hours.
Which American building would you most like to see in an Architecture set? Let us know in the comments.
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25 comments on this article
Great overview! I've never bought any of the Architecture sets because of the prices, but the Capitol building might have changed my mind. It might be a rather basic build, but it would be great to have the Washington Monument as a set, so you can complete the Mall. Just hoping for an Australian set, like parliament house or the Sydney Harbor Bridge :D
I would like to see a Statue of Liberty, but that might never happen, as a LEGO minifigure is more often used.
Would love to see the city of Mobile Alabama as a skyline set. Buildings rendered could be the RSA Battle House Tower, The Cathedral Basillica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile Government Plaza, The RSA BankTrust Building, and the USS Alabama, one of the few remaining WWII United States BattleShips in one piece. It's not exactly well known, but it would make a great set! Check it out:http://www.myneworleans.com/Mobile-skyline.png
Cool, would you do similiar articles when the other countries are nearing their elections?
Great article! I wouldn't really like to see some more Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Already have Fallingwater and the Robie House.
You forgot Guggenheim in New York!
Excellent article! Well written--great coverage of the sets with images, trivia, and history. Living in California, I'd like to see some Architecture set from that state.
I love these sets. They bring back memories from travels to the U.S. and also let me admire the architecture as well as teach my children about America. I held back purchasing some Architecture sets because of the pricing, now I regret this.
They still haven't elected anybody! The suspense in the US is killing me. Good list of sets, though.
Now u need a really big long wall to add to the collection
@Putters: No political comments on this forum, please. There are other sites for that.
One positive about the result - the USD is bound to fall, which means buying Lego will be probably cheaper! ...
Congratulations Trump/Pence. Now back to building...
Embarrassing Americans... No words.
Sorry, didn't realise. And with the subject matter I thought it was fair game. It wasn't a political argument anyway, really, as I'm not a U.S. citizen. More of an opinion on today's events.
The west coast needs more representation! Would love to see the Transamerica Pyramid, perhaps in a San Francisco skyline set.
Would you do this for other countries elections or special events?
Thanks for the pick-me-up (albeit slight). I was lucky enough to find the Fallingwater set just before visiting for the first time last year, and the set and house are both awesome.
BTW, embarrassed and ashamed to be a Pennsylvanian and an American today. Very tough explaining this nonsense to the kids.
It was pretty easy explaining this to my kids. One candidate wants to expand the public sector, the other wants to expand the private sector. One says terrible terrible things, the other does terrible things.
Vote for Pedro!
I agree that politics don't belong here, and I ONLY post this in response to fulcrumbop, but I'd be proud to be an American today; an amazing underdog story and an amazing act of democracy.
@TheAuk:
Agreed on both points.
I do have trouble suppressing my political beliefs in a nonpartisian environment on occasion, but then again this is not a political debate website.
@TSK15 Your example is commendable. This site is for Lego only and people should keep their comments to Lego only. They can take their political views to a different place if they wish to talk about them.
A Washington Monument would be awesome! Or a Jefferson Memorial! A Trump Tower might be appropriate. Nice article.
@ magykfyre
As of today the dollar is doing quite well so sorry for the LEGO prices :-(
Also it says you are from Australia so I am not quite sure why the dollar would change the prices for you? Do Australians get all their LEGO from America for some reason?