Diagon Alley

Released in 2011 as part of the LEGO Harry Potter theme, set 10217 Diagon Alley was designed to capture the bustling wizarding shopping district during a period when the LEGO Harry Potter line had been recently revived. This set was unique at the time for its modular approach, featuring three distinct buildings—Ollivanders, Borgin and Burkes, and Gringotts Bank—which allowed for a more expansive display than typical single-structure sets. The design focused on dense, iconic detail, utilizing a mix of specialized stickers and printed elements to evoke the cluttered, magical aesthetic of the films.

The set was conceived by LEGO designers to provide a centerpiece for fans of the franchise, aiming to translate the complex architecture of the source material into the classic brick-built format. It was generally well-received by the collector community for its comprehensive inclusion of minifigures and its departure from the standard castle-based sets that dominated the theme. By providing a street-level perspective, the set invited builders to recreate specific scenes from the films, establishing a standard for subsequent, larger-scale recreations of the location that would appear in later years.