By Grace Allen

Andy Grover taught physics at King Philip High School for 19 years. By most accounts, he was a popular, quirky teacher who had a knack for making a difficult subject fun and interesting. Former students, then, might not be surprised to learn that his next chapter involves LEGO bricks, the ubiquitous multicolored building toy.

 Andy Grover working on a model of Cranston High School East.

Grover has been using the bricks to construct models of older buildings in the Providence area in a quest to preserve and draw attention to their histories. While the state is full of significant architecture like the Newport mansions, Grover believes that many of Rhode Island’s public schools and libraries, among other structures, are just as beautiful but are often overlooked and underappreciated by the public. His goal is to change that, one brick at a time.

“These buildings, especially the public schools, are absolutely gorgeous and historic too yet they are not considered landmarks,” said Grover, a Providence resident. “When these buildings were built, I guess the values at the time were different. Because something built for the American public back then was meant to convey importance, strength, and beauty. And they did a great job of that.”

Grover, 41, is a product of Rhode Island public schools. He went to Brown University to study math and science and then Fitchburg State University for a master’s in science education. He also took classes at the Rhode Island School of Design during summer breaks, something he said was “a real treat.” He considers himself a creator, not an artist, although he is quite talented in drawing. He calls the decision to use LEGO bricks to depict cultural landmarks a “kooky idea” that works.

“It’s the right medium, I think,” he said. “It’s part of all of our childhoods and is accessible to everybody. While it seems whimsical, you can make very serious points with it at the same time and I think that’s the best way to generate discussion and appeal to people. Maybe that’s what I got from my time as a teacher, that the best way to teach serious stuff is to have an element of play to it.”

Grover has built models of Warwick’s recently-closed Aldrich and Gorton junior high schools, Cranston high schools, Providence’s Asa Messer school, and the Providence Public Library, among others. He notes that many of the schools he depicts were built to accommodate the burgeoning immigrant population of the late 19th century, and their aesthetic and cultural value should be acknowledged, celebrated, and preserved.

His works have been displayed at libraries, schools, and PVDFest, the annual arts event that takes place throughout the streets of Providence every summer. He has won Rhode Island State Council for the Arts (RISCA) grants to purchase LEGO bricks, which can run into hundreds of dollars. But Grover has also received donations of bricks from the basements of people who have seen his work and attended the schools he builds, and those donations are especially meaningful because people will share their recollections of the schools with him. 

“That’s exactly what I am trying to do, connect with people’s shared histories of these cultural landmarks,” he said.

In January, Grover was chosen to be the LEGO Artist in Residence at the Warrior Run School District in Turbotville, PA. The district is constructing a new elementary school and Grover was commissioned to construct a model of the building. He will also be working with the students and teachers via Zoom to incorporate lesson plans around the LEGO project.

“I was touched when this district reached out to me,” said Grover. “I’d never heard of this town before but I immediately got a sense of their values. The school building will really be very nice. It has some classic features and shows you can build something in the 21st century that makes a powerful, strong statement.”

Grover hopes his LEGO projects get people to think about the public buildings that are a defining characteristic of the state. He wants people to appreciate the cultural value of these structures, noting that some of the schools, in particular, have educated over 100,000 students each over the years.

“The Newport mansions are considered a symbol of Rhode Island, but why?” he asked. “I don’t have any connection to them. They’re not important to me. The same could be said for other buildings we consider landmarks. Why are they important? What’s the difference between a brownstone in New York City and a triple decker in Woonsocket? To me, nothing except what we project onto them because we tend to look at them with classist eyes. I’m asking people to rethink that a little bit. Maybe some places we don’t think are important, well, maybe they actually are.”

To learn more about Grover’s LEGO projects, visit his website (https://groverlicious.me) or follow him on Instagram (rilegoartist) or Facebook (Rhode Island Lego Artist). Contact him at [email protected] with any questions or to discuss commissioning a LEGO building.

Visit the Providence Public Library to see Grover’s LEGO depiction of that structure, currently the only one of his models on public display. It’s located on the third floor of the library.