One Toronto neighbourhood is looking a little more vibrant these days as a local artist has swooped to transform a plain old street pole into a mesmerizing piece of colourful LEGO art. 

Over the past decade, Toronto-based multi-media artist Martin Reis has reconstructed broken brick walls and even busted old tree planters with the tiny plastic blocks, but his latest project, dubbed Le Tour de Lego, is overseeing the complete transformation of an unpretentious wooden pole.

"The idea was simply to transform plain wooden pole into something joyful and colourful that young and old can enjoy. What better material than LEGO? It's never too late to have a happy childhood," Reis told theGentries. 

Several months ago, the artist says a square wooden pole for a school zone sign appeared on the sidewalk in front of Sam James Coffee Bar, located at 297 Harbord St. 

here it is back on January 19 pic.twitter.com/uO2AFgRHT0

— jnyyz 🚲 (@jnyyz) February 16, 2024

"It seemed like the perfect spot and easy for me to continue working on it as it is on my way to work," Reis explained. "So I got together with the wonderful Macintosh family and artist Sean Martindale and began the project." 

Construction on the installation officially kicked off on Jan. 3, with Reis meticulously adding new levels every other day when he had the chance to stop by. 

"The LEGOs are mostly mine but I had help from the Macintosh family at the start of the project," he told theGentries. "I buy my LEGOs second-hand either online or in thrift shops." 

Reis says the response to the project has been "overwhelmingly positive," with lots of local residents stopping to speak to the artist as he intricately assembles the LEGO blocks. 

There appears to be a community effort to dorn this pole with Lego outside the Sam James on Harbord. pic.twitter.com/khtK7Zyzxf

— Dan Seljak (@anotherglassbox) February 26, 2024

"Young and old are super supportive and enjoy seeing it grow little by little every week. Everyone has such happy memories of LEGOs. The business owners on the block, Sam and Leonard, are helping me too by offering the use of a ladder which I will need soon and free coffee and snacks," he said. 

Reis plans on getting more LEGO pieces from friends and supporters in hopes of completing the installation by the end of March. 

"I am not in a rush," he told theGentries. "Le Tour de Lego is over five feet tall now but it is only halfway built. Just so happy Le Tour gets so much love." 

Back in 2023, Reis made headlines when he dressed in a soccer referee uniform to issue red and yellow cards to careless drivers at the intersection of Richmond and Pearl Streets. 

A fake soccer referee is handing out violations to bad drivers in Toronto https://t.co/Dg6q8LKGEG #Toronto

— theGentries (@theGentries) August 17, 2023

For his performance piece, dubbed Crosswalk Referee, Reis used the "universal languages of football and humour to address pedestrian safety, privilege, and social interaction in a dense urban setting."