Civic Center

Courthouse (front, back, top)

The first arrest by LEGO police took place in 1972; the suspect was booked at the Police Heliport and has been languishing in one cell or another ever since. Now, with a new judge in town, a courthouse is in order, and a trial can commence. Justice shall be delayed no longer.

Library (front, back)

The librarian greets patrons in the grand entry hall. On one side of the library, we find non-fiction books, with a reference section on the mezzanine. The original tiled ceiling and woodwork can be seen here. The fiction section, and a quiet reading room, can be found under the skylights in the other, renovated wing. The first floor here houses a children’s section. A small addition is used for storytime or small public meetings.

Museum (front, back)

The main attraction is an exhibit on space exploration. An Archaeology exhibit and a Life Sciences hall upstairs complete the visitor experience. On the roof, an open-air observatory is installed for after-hours events. Admission fees support a fully equipped on-site laboratory and a Visiting Scientist program. The lab is open for tours on Thursday afternoons; reservations required.


Performing Arts Center (front, back)

The Center seats 20 seat on the main floor and 14 seats in the balcony, and is available for all types of performances and events. Recent engagements have included Shakespeare’s As You Like It and a world-famous duo performing popular love songs on saxophone and bagpipe. An outdoor snack bar is accessible via the balcony. The lobby provides space for art installations by local artists; current pieces are Seven Stripes, above the stairs; Waterfall in August, under the stairs; Clockwork, on the balcony, and Triste, near the entrance.

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Integration: The buildings were designed to be intermediate in complexity, detail, and size between the modular buildings series and City sets. In this way they can be the ‘missing link’ to integrate both types of buildings into one city. An example is shown above (more here), using files made available by multiple users in the Official LEGO Sets Eurobricks forum.

Piece count: The entire set as shown has about 2800 pieces, including 300 dark red and 420 dark blue. There may be some new colors of existing elements included, but they are certainly not integral to the concept and can be discarded. My first round of optimization reduced the piece count by about 800 pieces; additional redesign and optimization could very likely reduce the piece count further. A smaller set design that does not include the Performing Arts Center, or the upstairs reading room in the Library, or the laboratory in the Science Museum, has about 1900 pieces.

Minifigures: Because so many of the Collectible Minifigures would fit in perfectly with this set, I didn’t include any original creations. Among the many Collectible Minifigures who could find good homes in this set: Librarian, Scientist, Crazy Scientist, Judge, Hollywood Starlet, Saxophone Player, Flamenco Dancer, Rocker Girl, Punk Rocker, Mime, and Actor.

Final note: Exhibits in the Life Sciences hall are similar to those in The Cuusoo Zoo by jimmygiggle, although independently created; however, the ones in the Zoo are better and predate my design. Please go have a look!

Thank you for looking! Let me know if you would like more pictures.