[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...627275466.html

At Ripley's, a World Trade Center of Matchsticks
Ralph Gardner Jr. and the Matchstick Artist Visit the Model in Times Square





July 16, 2013
By RALPH GARDNER JR.

When I heard that Patrick Acton had made a soaring model of the new World Trade Center for Ripley's Believe It Or Not in Times Square—out of 468,000 matchsticks and 17 gallons of glue, the enterprise taking him 2,100 hours—I felt I had to meet the guy. I suspected we were kindred spirits, even though I'd never attempt such a feat. If I did, it would be doomed to certain failure. I doubt I could make anything out of matchsticks except a fire, and even that only after striking the box a half-dozen times.

But what I found impressive, appealing and perhaps a common bond was his apparent attention to detail. (Or minutiae, as my wife describes it in my case—the stuff nobody except me cares about as the infrastructure crumbles all around us.)

Mr. Acton and his wife, April, had flown in from Iowa, where they live and where he builds his models, to see his World Trade Center in situ. It was even more impressive than I anticipated. It stands 17 feet high and includes not only One World Trade Center, but also 2, 3 and 4 World Trade Center, as well as Santiago Calatrava's winged transportation hub.

...Michael Hirsch, president and general manager of Ripley's New York Odditorium, said the model will be on display by the museum's entrance indefinitely.