Preservation in Plastic
Andrew Grover celebrates his Rhode Island pride by building landmarks with Legos . By Jenna Pelletier
TOP AND BELOW : Andrew Grover shows off the Lego buildings in his " North Main Street : Reimagined " exhibit .
Inspiration struck at the dentist ’ s office , of all places .
As Andrew Grover was getting his teeth cleaned in Warwick one day in 2016 , he looked out the window and saw the soon-to-be-closed , circa-1935 Aldrich Junior High School .
“ I was thinking about how lovely it was , and I was disappointed that it was going to sit vacant ,” says Grover , who grew up in Cranston and now lives in Providence . “ And then I had a desire to make it .”
Not being “ a pen and paper person ,” Grover headed to his parents ’ house , dug out his dusty childhood Legos and started constructing a model of the building — grand columns and arched doorways and all — out of the iconic interlocking plastic bricks .
Since then , he has built more than two dozen models of Rhode Island landmarks . They include several historical schools ( Cranston East , Mount Pleasant High School and Carl G . Lauro Elementary , among others ), as well as the Providence Public Library and Providence ’ s Union Station .
Grover ’ s work has been made possible through grant funding and commissions from the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts , PVD- Fest and the Rhode Island Foundation — and generous donations of Legos from the public . “ Anyone with kids knows that Legos can be expensive ,” he says . While he acknowledges the whimsical nature of his creations ,
Grover emphasizes the serious message behind them .
“ I hope Rhode Islanders look at these buildings , especially some of the underappreciated , older public school buildings , as cultural landmarks to be cherished and preserved ,” says Grover , who previously worked as a high school science teacher . “ Aesthetically , many of these buildings are gorgeous , but we don ’ t seem to respect them the way we do many private schools .”
He wants “ public school kids ,” like him , to feel proud of their homes away from home . The idea is : If someone is taking the time to make a model of their school , it must be important .
Recently , Grover took on a different type of project , one commissioned by Providence ’ s Department of Art , Culture and Tourism . He created a model of a vision for a revitalized , more pedestrianfriendly North Main Street , based on the findings of a Department of Planning and Development study . And he ’ s thinking even bigger in 2023 and beyond . “ I would love a dedicated , permanent attraction where people could come to look at models of buildings of Providence ,” he says . “ I ’ m thinking entire historic streetscapes .” rilegoartist . com
PHOTOGRAPHY : ( TOP ) COURTESY OF KIA DAVIS ; ( BOTTOM ) ANDREW GROVER .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2023 19