Meet the Montreal LEGO artist recreating the city's most iconic buildings
The Orange Julep, Schwartz’s Deli, and even a Couche Tard depanneur -- they're landmarks in Montreal, but that’s not all they have in common.
Enter the world of local LEGO master Addy Parsons, the Ottawa-born Montrealer with a talent to render the city’s most iconic buildings in brick form.
CTV News visited her home studio in Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood. For a look inside, watch the video report above.
“So, actually, these bricks almost all came from a supplier in Thailand,” said Parsons, dumping a small bag of assorted blocks onto a long workbench.
Despite LEGO’s enduring appeal to novice and advanced builders worldwide (estimates say there are around 400 billion pieces scattered around the globe), finding the right bricks for a job can feel like a treasure hunt, she said.
For commissions, she buys new. Still, Montreal’s one-of-a-kind buildings call for specific approaches.
“See the little Joe Beef window here?” asked Parsons, holding up a small transparent pane displaying the restaurant’s logo home-printed on an even smaller piece of transparent sticker paper.
Management at the iconic eatery had commissioned a model – complete with interiors – of their restaurant on Notre-Dame St. W. The 2,630-piece build features a stocked kitchen (complete with a turkey ready to carve), and the taxidermy buffalo head diners may remember from their visit to the washroom.
Parsons started recreating her city in LEGO as a pandemic passion pastime back in 2021. Among her first builds were facades near her home. Her work garnered serious attention online when she turned her talents to Montreal’s most recognizable landmarks.
“The most known one is definitely the Orange Julep, that one was the beginning of all of this,” she told CTV. “I just love that building, and thought it was really cool. I wanted to try making it.”
- IN PICTURES: Iconic Montreal buildings as LEGOs
It turned out the spherical fast-food joint on Decarie Blvd was tough to build in LEGO – a medium defined by bricks, and all right angles that make them.
“After about five months, eight versions, many swear words, and a few bottles of wine, my LEGO Orange Julep is born,” she wrote online to unveil the project – fit with colourful string lights, a hotdog made to order sitting in the window, and a cashier waiting to greet a customer.
“Wait, is this for sale? I’m freaking out,” wrote one of many commenters online. “Love le concept,” wrote another.
This LEGO Orange Julep was shared on March 1, 2023, by Montreal builder Addy Parsons. It is comprised of 1,635 pieces. (Supplied image)
Since then, Parsons has expanded the neighbourhood, so to speak. In addition to Schwartz’s and Couche-Tard, her collection includes the pink Fleur et Cadeau Façade on Saint-Laurent Blvd., and beloved soup-and-sandwich spot Café Santropol on Saint-Urbain St.
“I think Montreal buildings are so beautiful,” said Parsons.
And when they’re made of LEGO, she said, something else emerges between the piece and the viewer.
“It’s a feeling of … exploration, where people want to look,” she said. “They seek familiarity, or they draw parallels with things they know in real life through a lens that’s really comforting and playful, because it’s LEGO.”
All of Parson’s creations are viewable on her social media page, brickablock.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Halifax police confirm body of Walmart employee was found in walk-in oven
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
Former Conservative leader says Trudeau 'should move on' amid efforts to oust him
Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'should move on,' as he faces growing inner-caucus turmoil.
Butter shoplifters strike again! Two more large-scale thefts reported in Guelph, Ont.
At least seven large-scale butter thefts have been reported in Guelph, Ont. over a 10-month period, including two hauls in just the last month.
PM Trudeau doesn't think his leadership is in danger, as ministers voice confidence in him a day before key Liberal meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he doesn't think his leadership is in danger, one day before a highly anticipated Liberal caucus meeting where his future at the helm of the Liberal party is expected to be up for discussion.
Asian American boba brand finds opportunity after Simu Liu sparks cultural appropriation debate
The Asian American boba milk tea brand, Twrl, have a chance to pitch a pretty well-known investor -- actor Simu Liu. The irony is that it came about after the owners posted a video on TikTok in support of Liu calling out the white owners of a boba drink brand for cultural appropriation on "Dragons' Den," the Canadian version of "Shark Tank."
Hoard of 1,000-year-old coins unearthed in a farmer's field sells for US$5.6 million
Adam Staples knew he'd found something when his metal detector let out a beep. And then another. And another.
What is 'pink cocaine'? Designer drug linked to Liam Payne and named in Diddy lawsuit
A partial autopsy has revealed that former One Direction singer Liam Payne had multiple substances in his system when he plunged to his death from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
W5 Investigates You donated clothing to needy Canadians. So how did it end up in Africa?
In the first of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5 puts a spotlight on how some of the clothes Canadians donate to charity end up in markets in Africa.
Former volunteers search for missing, dead cats linked to an eastern Ontario cat rescue
Former volunteers with Eastern Ontario Cats (EOC) are working to track cats they say are either dead or missing after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records surfaced in recent months.