Pencil Museum Transforms Carriage House

Krikko’s new museum is about to open in the Hill with room to fit all of New Haven — and space left over for Boston, Chicago, and New York.

With the renovations of his West Street building nearly complete, Gregory ​“Krikko” Obbott is poised to open the Hill Museum of Arts, a space large enough to display his massive hand-drawn cityscapes. In his vision, the former carriage house will be more than just a museum. It will be an educational center for inspiring young artists to follow their dreams.

Nigerian-born Krikko has received national attention for his gigantic, meticulously detailed pencil drawings of U.S. cities. Every day at New Haven’s Union Station, commuters pass by posters of his works, the originals of which can be as much as 20 feet high by 15 feet wide.

An artist working on such a scale can have trouble finding a place to display his artwork. With help from the city, Krikko finally has a space to hang up his massive aerial views of Boston, Chicago, New York, and New Haven. ​“It’s always been a dream to have a place where you can hang the drawings,” he said.

In 2005, the city sold Krikko a rundown building on West Street in the Hill for $5,000. With a $60,000 grant from the city’s facade improvement program, supplemented by his own money, Krikko set about transforming the former Hull Brewery Carriage House into a spacious and welcoming showcase for his art.

One last piece just fell into place: Before he can open the museum, Krikko needs a parking lot for visitors. He had been hoping to buy two nearby city-owned sliver lots at 63 Ann St. and 215 West St., but couldn’t afford the price. His alderwoman, Andrea-Jackson Brooks, helped knock down the price from $8,544 each to $1 each. The lots were being littered with dog poo, Jackson-Brooks said. She said she is proud to support his business and put the land to good use. The Board of Aldermen approved the sliver lot sales on Oct. 5, lifting a final obstacle between the museum and opening day.

Krikko said he hopes to have the museum open before the end of the year. In addition to showing his drawings, the museum will display works of local artists and run educational programs for local youth, Krikko said.

Over the last several years, Krikko has transformed the museum building, which was nothing but exposed rafters and a severely damaged roof when he bought it. ​“It was all dilapidated,” he said. ​“At that time nobody wanted it.”

Krikko built three floors inside, with large columns hoisting two tiered balconies that overlook a lofty gallery area. The building has all new electrical, plumbing, and heating systems, along with fresh coats of paint and a newly tiled floor, he said.

On Friday afternoon, Krikko and an assistant were at work in the museum, putting up his 20-foot high drawing of New Haven to the left of the main entrance. The image depicts a view of New Haven’s nine squares, looking south over the city with the Long Island Sound visible on the horizon.

Stepping down from his ladder, Krikko pointed to the walls where he’ll soon hang his drawings of Chicago and Boston and New York.

Krikko said the New Haven drawing took him two years to complete, down to details like the statues on the outside of the Elm Street courthouse, to couples strolling on the New Haven green.

“See all those windows in the parking lot?” he said, pointing to a building on Wall Street. ​“It’s exact.”

He said that he works from aerial photographs and maps, as well as numerous photos that he takes himself of the buildings from the ground.

“I use maps and photos, and then exaggerate, you know,” he said. ​“Each panel is a story in itself.”

“The larger it is, the more powerful it is,” he said of his drawings. ​“It’s like the difference between the Empire State Building and a little house. You can feel the difference.”

Krikko said he hopes that his museum will draw tourists from near and far to see his drawings, which already sell as posters at gift shops around the country. More than that, he said. he plans for the museum to be a place to ​“teach and inspire” local kids.

His message: ​“If you put your mind to it work, you can achieve things beyond your wildest dreams… Be persistent.”

Krikko, who regularly visits schools, said that his pencil drawings are a reminder that you don’t need fancy equipment or expensive gear to do impressive things. ​“Look what you can do with just a pencil,” he said, quoting his ad campaign for Staedtler pencils.

Krikko, who will be 56 this year, came to the U.S. in 1974 to study architecture at the University of Lousiana. For most of the past 20 years, he has called New Haven home. He now lives on the second floor of the museum-to-be. His studio, with its 18-foot drafting table, will be on the third floor. He’ll be joined soon by his 20-year-old son, who is living with Krikko’s family in Nigeria while he finishes his studies.

Now that he’s drawn several big American cities, Krikko said, he’s got his eye on overseas metropolises — Paris and London — as subjects for his next Brobdingnagian cityscapes.

When he’s through preparing the museum, visitors will be able to step into major cities without leaving New Haven. ​“When you come in here,” Krikko predicted, ​“you’re going to get goosebumps.”