MOC: Cobblestone Street & Bridge, Theatre District

[AncientDayz]

So, back in February, a quaint little town was host to my first mini MOC (as well as the Oscars!) in honor of the release of the Palace Cinema. Well, since that time, the town has continued to grow, and after the excitement of the Oscars, they built a second Palace Cinema. However, due to space (on my shelf), they didn't build them together and an old street separated the two theatres. Well, no old, dingy coblestone street is good enough for their new theatre district, so they commissioned me a second time to renovate (i.e. freebuild) their little undertaking. So, without further commentary on my part ...the theatre district's cobblestone street and bridge.

Front View

Cobblestone street with crosswalk and traffic stop line. Stone bridge with ornaments (statues in honor of their Oscar Night premeire) and flowerbeds with stone.

Angled View

Side View

Rear View

The Bridge

The Staircase

...with the Palace Cinemas

I built one of the cinemas in reverse. I like all of the movie posters in the front.

Top View

...still waiting for those two stand out minifigs that will earn stars. Those two dark tan spots are waiting!

Angled View

...and finally, the premier night of ...um ...didn't think that far ahead.

But, a good time, nevertheless.

...and, a final wave from King Kong.

Thanks for looking!

PS. I apologize for the pictures. I am definitely still learning (and, yes, the backdrop should be white and ironed ...lol).

[Gryphon Ink]

Wow. I am loving the amazing texture in this MOC. Really nice, AncientDayz. The colors are well-chosen, the curves, the textures on the bridge, the whole thing is just WOW.

Do you have plans to continue this deeper yet?

.... and I just keep on staring at how you built the stairs. Awesome!

[ScotNick]

3 words: I love it!

This is awesome! I love the round stairs, the deco, the texture of the street, aaaand it fits very nicely to the Palace Cinema, well done.

My only concern is the height of the bridge.

[soccerkid6]

Those curved stairs are superb! Nice brick effect on the road too

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Wow, that looks great! Very nice attention to detail. Do you plan to extend the brick road?

[lightningtiger]

Beautiful creation - I love the roadway and that bridge is just the bomb......Brick On 'AncientDayz' !

[blksuperman2]

Wow, this is very beautiful. I love the details and that road is awesome. I'm confused though, Why would you need the bridge if you have the crosswalk?

[timmyc1983]

Wow, what a stunning bridge and roadway, and those stairs The whole thing is simply amazing, I think I'm in love.... Works so well with the two Palace Cinemas!

Great work and happy building

[Kristel]

This is just beautiful! I love the curves and the brick textures. I also like how you have done the lamps at the bottom of the each side and the flower beds. Well done all round!

[dougbuzz]

yeah,Those curved stairs are superb! Nice brick effect on the road too

Edited July 7, 2013 by dougbuzz

[Phazon]

If this one was for sale, I'd definitely buy it! I really like the curved bridge and the tiles make it really look like an old bricky road. Although I do not like the tiles which are attached to the bridge (matter of personal taste), this is a masterpiece. Do you mind to show how it was built? And if I borrow the idea someday?

[Dutchy]

This is amazing... The details on the bridge look beautiful and the cobblestone street really fits in with the classy look of your theatre... But there's one thing I don't understand. Why did you build 2 cinema's? Seems like a waste of bricks and time to me, because I think it's your task to build a whole city in this style!

[Chocolatecake]

Stunning, absolutely stunning.

The curve and the choice of colors that blend in perfect - I-m really amazed.

[Hoexbroe]

Really excellent and beautiful!

[Trance89]

Superb work! The bridge and the road are gorgeous and they look perfect in between the Palace Cinema's.

[The Player Nº1]

Just beautiful. Great MOC!

[Lego Chris]

This is really cool, I like the curved stairs and your use of the pearl gold to tie it in to the trim on the cinemas

[Legogal]

Woweeee! The bridge is superb! The tiles on its curves are sensational? This would be perfect for a theatre district in Venice, Italy.

Some random thoughts from my Dreaming Department: You could vary the colors and style just a bit turning one of your Palace Theatres into an opera house to vary the scene a bit. Then you could add a symphony hall in a similar style.

Your raised flower beds are first class, too! Congratulations!

[Redhead1982]

The bridge easily outstands the Palace Cinema. I like the curveture of the stairs, and the colors of the cobblestone street. The bridge on its own could very easily be situated somewhere in Venice. Flower beds are a nice touch to finish the pedestrian area. Well done.

[AncientDayz]

First, to everyone, thank you very much for all of the nice comments. That really means a lot to me. I have been looking at all of your work on this site for a long, long time in complete amazement, and I never thought I could build something people would actually like. I came out of my dark ages roughly two years ago, but I have only been collecting sets and bricks; with the exception of my extremely quick build in Februrary for fun, I haven't created anything on my own till now. So, thank you very much. Your comments make me want to create even more. Thanks! Now, to some particulars...

Do you have plans to continue this deeper yet?

I really would like to continue this a lot more, but space is hindering me right now. My shelf is a "U" that goes around the room and is only wide enough for the modulars. So, sadly, I don't have room to put a street in front of the buildings right now. I very much plan to do so once we move next summer, and I have more room. I will be making a park to fit the corner of the street next, and I want to add an old cobblestone street near the Green Grocer with outdoor vendors (possibly). However, I haven't started planning those past the initial idea yet. Like I said in my post, this bridge was even just a free-build over the weekend.

My only concern is the height of the bridge.

I thought about this as well when I got to the bridge portion of the build (I built the steps first, and again, this was free-built so I wasn't thinking that far ahead as I worked on the stairs). Cars fit perfectly underneath the bridge, but I don't think trucks would. I thought about putting warning bars (yellow and white stripped bars) under the bridge and/or warning lights, but I thought that would ruin the look. I can possible raise it a little higher in a few spots, but if I want to keep the stair height uniform, I am confined by the space of a modular layout. Low bridges are not unknown around my area so I don't have a problem with the height necessarily, but I will have to decide if I want to be more practical (add warning lights, etc.) or more decorative (leave it largely as is) as I continue to layout my city.

Do you plan to extend the brick road?

As soon as I can find more space (see comments above)! I will be adding side streets for now, most likely in this style.

I'm confused though, Why would you need the bridge if you have the crosswalk?

I am, too! Well, sort of. I didn't plan this as I built, and as I was building, my initial thought was to put a red carpet in that area, but I didn't like a "half" carpet leading up to the cement in front of the cinema doors. My second idea was to put stone benches there, but I didn't like blocking the curved stairway or the walkway (leaving it open allows the drivers to drop off celebrities there). So, my current thought is to consider this an old walkway (that is why I yellowed parts of it) that was there before the bridge was built. Who knows; this may change, but for now, I like it if only for the reason that it breaks up the brick pattern on the street (the color as well as the direction of the tiles).

Although I do not like the tiles which are attached to the bridge (matter of personal taste), this is a masterpiece. Do you mind to show how it was built? And if I borrow the idea someday?

First, I tend to agree with you about the tiles (assuming the green ones) attached to the bridge. I needed an element of color to the stonework, and that's the best I could think of at 5 AM. That may or may not change as time goes on.

Second, the staircase is actually rather simple after some trial and error. I will post some pictures closer to next weekend (will not be near my stuff early in the week). However, the bottom few steps are just built using the same technique as in Pet Shop or Market Street (using a single stud to connect the bricks as they turned). I tried using this with the upper steps, but it wasn't sturdy at all. So, I used hinges with the bricks below the higher steps, and at the steps themselves, I took the same idea from Pet Shop and Market Street, but I used flat tiles where the single stud would have been because the single stud system doesn't line up with the hinge system perfectly (in fact, that is why I had to "cut" one of the turning steps near the top). That may sound confusing, but I will post a picture or two later this week. To be completely honest, the hardest part was just getting the right patterns that I wanted with the bricks, plates, and tiles that make up the walls as the stairs turned.

Last, you don't ever have to ask to borrow the idea. First, I would be flattered. Secondly, that's why I love this site - to see great builds and learn from each other!

But there's one thing I don't understand. Why did you build 2 cinema's? Seems like a waste of bricks and time to me, because I think it's your task to build a whole city in this style!

You could vary the colors and style just a bit turning one of your Palace Theatres into an opera house to vary the scene a bit. Then you could add a symphony hall in a similar style.

Thanks for the kind words from both of you. I just bought and built the second palace cinema last week, and I didn't even have this bridge in mind until this weekend. After I tackle a park and one more street section, I am going to attempt my first modular building. We'll see how that goes (I am intimidated after seeing the beautiful modulars over the years on this site). Once I gain confidence, I really like the ideas of symphony hall and opera house. I am definitely going to keep those ideas close by.

Again, thank you very much for all of the comments. I really appreciate them.

[AVector]

That is a very beautiful bridge, very elegant!

[hush]

I am in awe sir , very nice work

[Leewan]

Wow, awesome MOC ! It's quite simple, but very effective. And all those smooth surfaces are gorgeous.

[kibosh]

Really nice work! As mentioned, the textures you created are incredible. I think I'd like to see a little river running under the bridge with little gondolas moving underneath.

[paul_delahaye]

That bridge just rocks, it needs to be over a river or some sunken feature, but it has real charm. Nice job