LEGO street pole in Toronto: Here’s why

A mundane street pole in Toronto is getting attention as a community of artists builds a tower of LEGO – five feet and counting – around it.

Martin Reis, the project’s originator, noticed a new street pole go up on Harbord Street outside of Sam James Coffee Bar the first week of January.

The pole – boxy and wooden – looked awkward and strange, Reis said. So, he decided to do something about it.

He teamed up with the MacIntosh family; Catherine, a design worker, Bruce, an artist, and their son Malcolm, a LEGO collector, along with his collaborator Sean Martindale.

Together, they pooled their LEGO pieces and began building around the pole, which now has a School Zone sign at top.

The colourful display on the street has transported passersby to childhood, Reis said. “I’ve gotten the most joyous reactions from 2 year olds to 80 year olds.”

Every two to three days he tries to stop by the pole to add LEGO on his way to work. Others have also added their own pieces to the project, which took Reis aback, heart warmed by the community’s contributions.

A street pole in Toronto is now covered in LEGO (Credit: Martin Reis). “It’s really restored my faith in the goodness and kindness and humanity in people,” he said.

While the project has reached five feet, Reis said he wants to build it up another five feet in the weeks to come.

“It’s sort of making Toronto more colourful and fun one piece of LEGO at a time,” Reis added.

This isn’t Reis’ first time bringing smiles to the faces of Torontonians. Back in August, he sported a black and yellow referee uniform and handed out yellow and red cards to drivers who violated the rules of the road.