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When I first began compiling newspapers for my research into LEGO Samsonite, I only expected to find ads for LEGO sets. I never expected that newspapers would have captured something that otherwise would've been lost to time: LEGO City!

As such, I've grabbed as many appearances as I could find with the hope of documenting them. These are, to my knowledge, the only surviving images of the earliest large LEGO displays, and very little of this has been properly recorded in modern sources.

1961

The first ever mention of a LEGO city in North America is in The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 3rd, 1961. It seems unlikely, however, due to Samsonite's rush to set up LEGO production in 1961 as well as limited employees and time, that any models were Samsonite created. Instead, it's much more likely that these were imported models placed into a display incidentally called "LEGO City".

1962

To provide context, Samsonite began preparing retailer models by mid-1962 via their Detroit plant. Not only were these for LEGO City, but they also were available for retailers to order. Some buildings were also commissioned to represent local landmarks, which I go over in a separate article:

In March of 1962, a unique LEGO City appeared in the US. This one in particular was pictured in Toys and Novelties, but note that it is a recycled image from Europe, not necessarily the city displayed. I'm not aware of any images of the 1962 Toy Fair's city, or whether or not it was imported or Samsonite made:

And finally, the first of a new wave of LEGO City appearances start in Missouri. It may not have been the model city seen at the toy fair. In St Louis Globe Democrat, November 30th, 1962:

From what I can surmise, there very likely there existed at least two or even three of these city models simultaneously. They seem to have been passed around across the country, some staying only a week while others spend an entire month on display. It is evident that they were not all the same configuration between locations, as some images have unique features and buildings.

1963

In late 1963, another unique city appears in Canada. This one was among several other LEGO models supposedly valued at $15,000 CAD total. This is the first Samsonite prepared display we have images for, seen in Waterloo Region Record, November 28th, 1963:

A little over two weeks later, the first image of the US LEGO City appears. This one is in California, December 15th, 1963:

1964

Then we have an appearance in Memphis, Tennessee. The Commercial Appeal, March 14th, 1964:

A month later, one appears in New York. The Post Standard, April 19th, 1964:

Later in the year in Salem, Oregon via the Statesman Journal, September 20th, 1964. This one has far fewer skyscrapers:

On the same date as the newspaper above, another LEGO City appeared in Michigan. It does not appear to be the same display as seen in California in 1963, though of course there could've been reconfigurations, loss of a skyscraper, or it was simply cut out by whoever made this image. The Grand Rapids Press, September 20th, 1964:

The following image gets reused immensely. As a result, this may not be the city on display, but it gives useful dimensions. It could be the same city from above (even though the image is a different configuration), as this one is also from Michigan just at a different store. On display until October 26th. The Flint Journal, October 12th, 1964:

A different model than above, this one from Ohio. The Cincinnati Post, October 16th, 1964

Another Michigan appearance, The Kalamazoo Gazette, November 6th, 1964:

And now a Kentucky appearance again reusing the same image. This one is especially important as now we have substantiation that at least one of these city models were shown at the 1964 World's Fair. The Courier Journal, November 15th, 1964:

Now in Indiana, on display until December 27th. The Indianapolis News, November 26th, 1964:

1965

Now in Connecticut. The Journal, January 21st, 1965:

Now in Texas, finally with a different image of the display. Fort Worth Star Telegram, March 23rd, 1965:

Back to Michigan, also back to reusing that image. The Muskegon Chronicle, May 18th, 1965:

In Oklahoma June 7th-25. The Daily Oklahoman, June 6th, 1965:

And finally, oddly back in Missouri, the final appearance is in The Kansas City Star, October 6th, 1965:

It's not over

While this is all I have right now, it is possible more can be found. Unfortunately, it's likely that not all appearances were published in the paper or other archived media, so we probably won't get to be super precise about what model went where when. With appearances being as disparate as they are above, there is not much we can conclusively say currently.

That's the nature of LEGO by Samsonite, and that's why I like exploring this subject. There's so much unexplored territory beyond the surface.