Lego versions of Halifax-area buildings on display at Central Library

Inside the Halifax Central Library this week is a tiny Lego replica of the library itself.

The library and many other well-known Halifax-area landmarks have been recreated in Lego form by Gail Meagher, a Halifax woman who has been creating little versions of buildings since she was given a set of the toy.

"As an adult, I started Lego in 1993, when a boyfriend at the time gave me a little gag gift of Lego," she told CBC News. "That was when the internet was just getting started and there were Lego fans, and that piqued my interest."

The model of the library took Meagher more than a month and 11,601 pieces to build. Inside the model of the much-admired architectural structure, there are little Lego people designed by Meagher to look like the library's actual employees.

The entire display took her ten hours to set up in the library on Monday. She's been working on its buildings since 2002.

Meagher says she's not sure how many Lego pieces she used, but it may be in the hundreds of thousands. The train tracks, which surround the Lego community, contain about 21,000 pieces. There are 95 pieces in each tree.

The artist says she loves seeing a building and trying to recreate it in Lego. The Rotunda from Prince's Lodge in Bedford is one of her favourite creations, because of the challenges presented in making its round roof.

But her favourite tends to change.

'There's no mistakes with Lego'

"Something I built more recently I'm less likely to like if it's been really a challenge to build and I'll like it more in a few years," she said.

The display has working trains and many tiny details, including a preschool of little Lego children walking together, a breakdancer and fans of four NHL teams.

Meagher has been handing out a checklist of items — a scavenger list of sorts — to find in her display.

The list features some Nova Scotia trivia, including the challenge of spotting the Lego version of a Nova Scotia-born prime minister as well as Wheelbarrow Willie, a character in a Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation ad campaign more than a decade ago.

Also on the list — CBC meteorologist Peter Coade. And CBC reporter Colleen Jones is also a character in the display, doing a live hit complete with a camera person and satellite truck in front of the library.

It's not the only part of the display CBC has inspired. Meagher said she recreated a few of Newfoundland's famous Jellybean Row Houses — even though they aren't Nova Scotia landmarks — after watching Republic of Doyle on CBC.

"It's a lot of fun, it's very relaxing and it doesn't matter if you make a mistake. You can just take it apart and rebuild it," she said. "There's no mistakes with Lego."

Meagher's Lego display is at the Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road until Sunday.