A young LEGO master gets his due

By Michele Morgan Bolton, Globe Correspondent

Like pretty much everybody, John Albani loved LEGO as a kid. But the marine biology student at Norfolk Agricultural School has taken the ability to snap the tiny bricks together to a new level with his elaborate copy of the White House at Christmas -- currently on display in the State Library on Beacon Hill, where it remains through February.

Albani's work will travel back to Dedham Town Hall in March. The model was on display last year as well, but has since been expanded and enlarged. The work has captured the attention and admiration of Governor Deval Patrick, who has pledged to send a picture to the real house's current inhabitant, President Barack Obama.

"I think that's pretty cool,'' said Albani.

It took five hours a week for four months to create the original structure, to which the teen has since added two wings. Parts of the house had to be propped up with wood until the work -- created with as many as 6,000 individually interconnected plastic pieces -- could stand on its own. Construction was difficult, but rewarding, he said.

"I really liked LEGO when I was little, then I stopped for a really long time,'' Albani said.

But then he was inspired to try his hand again after a visit to the nation's capital. He relied on photos and his memory of the massive structure on Pennsylvania Avenue to work out the logistics.

Detail is so intricate that Albani has pinpointed Jackie Kennedy garden; the work is dedicated to former President George W. Bush, Obama, and all the presidents who have served the country.

State Representative Paul McMurtry, a Dedham Democrat, hosted the LEGO White House in Boston in December and January before its arrival at the State Library, in Room 341 at the State House.

Albani's mother, Adrienne Albani, is the administrative assistant to the town's Conservation Commission.

"It is really generating much public interest," she said. "John has his sights set on the Visitors Center at the White House next."

In a recent note to staff, Town Administrator William Keegan said he was glad Albani's work is coming back to Dedham "so that everyone can marvel at his extraordinary talent and attention to detail."

"Since last year, he has added the wings to the White House, which only further dramatizes this great piece of work,'' Keegan said. "I know that I speak on behalf of the Board of Selectmen and the rest of the town employees in saying that we are all very proud of John and the work that he has done. Good for him."

Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton1@verizon.net.