Video: This Man Has Been Making Mini Models Of L.A. Landmarks Since The '70s

Gerald W. Cox, now 81, has been making tiny models of iconic Los Angeles buildings for the past several decades. LA//1:87, a short documentary by filmmaker Matthew Arnold-Ladensack, explores Cox's passion for L.A. history and miniature-making.Cox has made models of Angel's Flight, the Brown Derby, the Watts Towers, the Formosa Cafe, and recently completed one of the Eastern Columbia building in downtown Los Angeles. They are painstakingly detailed, and Cox spends a considerable amount of time researching each building before crafting the miniature. For his largest work, Angel's Flight, he said he researched the subject for years before spending three to four months building the model. He said he finds himself dismayed by the lack of interest and respect some people have for Los Angeles' rich history.

In the film, he says, "There's something in a person, any artist, I guess, that you feel you have to get it out of you. You must do it or it's gonna burst. And I still feel, even though I'm 81, I still have ideas of architectural pieces that I would like to do."

LA//1:87 will play at the HollyShorts Film Festival in at the TCL Chinese Theater on Friday, August 19 at 5 p.m. You can also watch it online, as embedded below.

[h/t: Curbed LA]