UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A Union County lawyer uses a unique hobby to create little pieces of North Carolina history in his own living room and office.
In the halls of the Union County courthouse, Greyson Whitaker is usually hard at work as an assistant district attorney.
What You Need to Know
Union County assistant district attorney uses Legos to make models inspired by N.C. history
His recent models include the state house and old Union County courthouse
He plans to continue building models inspired by his life and connections to North Carolina
"I’ve prosecuted cases from traffic cases, shoplifting, all the way to felony charges in Superior Court,” Whitaker said while wrapping up his day at the office.
Whitaker, a Union County native turned assistant district attorney, is the third generation of his family with an active involvement in law enforcement.
"My dad is a retired deputy sheriff, and his dad, my grandpa, is a retired police officer from Union County. And, I wanted to do something along those lines of the criminal justice field. Sort of the family business, so to speak,” Whitaker said at the courthouse.
Whitaker is in his third year with Union County after graduating from N.C. Central in Durham.
But what might be surprising is what Whitaker does in his few spare moments: He is an avid Lego builder.
"So, this is a Lego model of the historic Union County courthouse in downtown Monroe, that I built this year and last year,” Whitaker said while showing off his latest model.
Building history
The orange-and-tan Lego miniature is not a perfect scale model of the old courthouse, but it is pretty close.
This spring, Whitaker finished the model after scouring online retailers for the exact right brick color.
From design to completion, the entire project took roughly a year.
"I just build these in my free time, in the evenings, on weekends here and there. After walking around the buildings, taking hundreds of pictures, so I can get the scale right and the details right,” Whitaker explained from his dining room table.
Using digital pictures and an online design program, Whitaker developed a digital Lego model of the courthouse over several months online, then pieced together step-by-step instructions using the same program.
After finding the right bricks over several months, he had what he needed to build his mini courthouse.
“This orange color is not a very popular Lego brand color,” Whitaker joked.
Before building the old Union County courthouse, he built a model of the Statehouse in Raleigh.
"The courthouse is about 1,200 pieces, and the capital is about 1,600 pieces,” he said.
Future projects
Now, as he Legos his way through the year, he’s moved on from pre-packaged sets and wants to continue building pieces that matter to him and the state.
"So, I want to pick something that’s meaningful to me, but also something that people would recognize,” Whitaker added.
Growing up, holidays and birthdays usually included a Lego gift. Now, his childhood passion has turned into an adulthood stress relief.
"That’s why I like it, it’s a challenge, it’s kind of like a puzzle in a way. How can I build what I want to build? But you have to really think it through,” Whitaker said.
The old courthouse will return to Whitaker’s office at the current Union County courthouse. County workers snapped pictures with it when he first brought it into the office earlier this year.
The Lego-ing lawyer said he has not picked his next inspiration yet but will continue using the online program to build models important to him and the state of North Carolina.
Eventually, he might share the instructions for the courthouse and Statehouse online, so other Lego enthusaists can build a piece of North Carolina history.