"What my dad gave me" is the name of the latest skyscraper to go up at the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York. Unveiled on Tuesday, the 65-ft tall, 16,000 lb sculpture is made entirely from stainless steel replica Erector set pieces - about one million of them!

The nearly seven storey building was built by American artist Chris Burden, who has been working with Erector set pieces for almost a decade. This is his most complex project yet.

Erector sets used to be very popular construction toys in the twentieth century. The sets were built for 'real' construction and came with small metal beams with holes for nuts, bolts and screws. The set also contained gears, pulleys and even electric motors. However, by the mid 1960's the toy lost its luster and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1967. While Erector sets are still available, they are made by a French company called Meccano, and apparently are not as good as the original one used to be.

Chris's fascination with the original Erector set led him to create his own replicas (copies), made from stainless steel and electro-plated (covered) with a nickel finish, so that they don't rust. Besides that, all the parts are made exactly like the original Erector set parts used to be, only a lot stronger.

Chris who lives in Los Angeles, started building the skyscraper in late 2006, as a tribute to all the tall buildings in New York. It was brought across the country in two parts and took about twenty people to assemble.

The sculpture has been named in honor of Chris's dad, an engineer, who spent a lot of time working at the Rockefellar Center when Chris was young. The sculpture, which seems to have gained instant popularity with New Yorkers, will be on display until July 19th.

Sources: Yahoo News, Malta Times.com