We know you’ve been anxious for the Holiday Train Show to open its doors–we’re right there with you! And truth be told, ever since preparation began in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory two weeks ago, it’s been a struggle for those of us at Plant Talk to keep our excitement in check (and why would we even want to, at that?) Watching the bridges and tracks being put in place, seeing this year’s layout take shape under the careful attentions of Paul Busse and his Applied Imagination team–it’s left us daydreaming over how spectacular everything will look under the lights this weekend.
But there’s more to the Train Show than locomotives and landmarks. This weekend also marks the start of our holiday celebrations at large, with grand opening ceremonies, music, and all sorts of entertainment outside the glassy walls of the Conservatory.
Christmas is days away. The kids are out of school, the shopping is (maybe) done, the presents are (mostly) wrapped, and it’s time to concentrate on kicking back and reveling in the joys of the season. For many families in the New York City area, a visit to the Holiday Train Show is as much a part of the holiday season as seeing a performance of The Nutcracker or the Rockettes, gawking at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, ice skating in Bryant Park, and watching the animals open “presents” at the Prospect Park Zoo.
And as any seasoned New Yorker can tell you, Christmas in the city can be immensely enjoyable. It’s easy to feel in the spirit of the season when surrounded by so much joy. But, for every jolly Christmas elf, there’s a Grinch whose heart is made several sizes too small by overlong lines, overwhelming crowds, and overheated offices. Escape the lines and hullabaloo of Midtown and come experience the wonder of the Holiday Train Show at the Garden. In an effort to spread the holiday cheer, we’re offering a few tips for maximizing your Train Show enjoyment during these jolly peak weeks (December 21, 2010-January 2, 2011).
Rustin Dwyer is Visual Media Production Specialist at The New York Botanical Garden.
Don’t miss your chance to walk through a miniature New York cityscape, teeming with garden-scale model trains. Running through January 9, the Holiday Train Show offers New Yorkers (and visitors too!) a chance to see their city in a completely new way. Lose yourself among 140 beloved New York landmarks as the trains zip along over a quarter-mile of track in this miniature world inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Your trip to the Garden doesn’t end with the trains though. Performances of Tootle the Train™ and the Little Engine That Could™ along with Gingerbread Adventures in the Discovery Center run daily. Grab a bite in one of our two Cafes, get in some holiday shopping at the Shop in the Garden or just marvel at the 250 acres of natural beauty.
All your favorite New York landmarks are in one place for one final weekend of the Holiday Train Show. This is your last chance to:
• See the trains among twinkling lights wind past the old Yankee Stadium, the Brooklyn Bridge, and, new this year, the original Penn Station and Brooks Brothers flagship store.
• Become an honorary engineer and take a picture with Thomas the Tank Engine™ along with his friend, Sir Topham Hatt, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Make a field notebook about ginger, cinnamon, and other spices in Gingerbread Adventures. Save room for decorating and sampling gingersnaps!
If you’ve read our informative signs at the Holiday Train Showor have absorbed our wonderful show-related blog posts, Web content, or media coverage, you know by now that the New York landmark replicas in the show are made of plant parts and fungi.
But do you know what each does when it’s alive, before it becomes an architectural element such as a roof shingle, window, or column on the fantastic buildings and bridges?
Take our quiz and match each plant part and fungus to its botanical role. (You can peek at the signs for hints on your visit to the Holiday Train Show this final week). Let us know how many you got right!
1. Bark
A. moves water and nutrients from roots to leaves
2. Cone
B. holds and protects the seeds of flowering plants
Sculptor Takes Us Behind-the-Scenes Building the Botanical Replicas
Sculptor Annette Skinner has worked on the Applied Imagination team since 1992.
Memories of travels, saved in a giant box. The twisty stick, obscure seed pod, shapely leaf quietly await the next decisive moment. If lucky, my boss, Paul Busse, will require my sculptural eye for the intriguing job of creating another scale model of a historic building. These varied natural objects possibly will become a banister, urn, or portico.
Paul, designer of the Holiday Train Show, (see the two of us in the photo at right, courtesy of Judy Glattstein) has a unique concept that requires integration of the natural world with traditional G-scale model railroad layouts. His highly dimensional, textural interpretation is populated by finely detailed versions of American art and architecture. Each year The New York Botanical Garden adds to its collection of New York landmarks, and I have been helping on these starting with Poe Cottage in the early days. This year’s newcomer, Penn Station, took staff at Applied Imagination over 1,1,00 collective hours to complete. Also new this year is the Brooks Brothers flagship store, LED lights on the Yankee Stadium replica, and an audio of lovely organ music by Paul’s son, Brian, accompanying the St. Patrick’s Cathedral replica.
Most of Paul’s designs are drawn in a studio he shares with his wife, Margaret Duke, in northern Kentucky. His drafting table overlooks a stream, reflecting the flow and curves of his blueprint sketches for track assembly.
Start your Holiday Train Show experience in the Palm Dome of the Conservatory, where you’ll find expanded features this year. In the beautiful reflecting pool is the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, as in past years, but now a model train runs past an island featuring the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse and the Lott House. Also in the gallery are other NY landmarks such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, this year augmented by an audio track of organ music.Also new to this year’s show:
Pennsylvania Station (1910–1964), “could be our most exciting building yet,” says designer Paul Busse. At 20 square feet, it certainly is the largest building replica in the show. The original building was demolished under controversy 46 years ago to make way for the fourth incarnation of Madison Square Garden. This year you can view the intricately detailed replica of this historic train station, constructed from plant parts like honeysuckle and birch bark.
The Brooks Brothers flagship store is added to the popular midtown Manhattan vignette in the Holiday Train Show. Founded in 1818 as the first ready-to-wear fashion emporium in America, Brooks Brothers is the country’s oldest clothing retailer. Our replica is crafted from beech, red willow, and lotus stems.
How many times have you seen It’s a Wonderful Life? A Christmas Story? Too many times to count? Rather than watch the holidays from a couch, break out your favorite festive sweater and create memories of your own with friends, relatives, colleagues, or others on a group tour of the Holiday Train Show.
Make a visit to this spectacular exhibition of twinkling lights, model trains, and replicas of New York landmarks made from plant parts a way of reconnecting with the special people in your life during this special time of year. Groups of 15 or more who plan a weekday visit receive a discount off the general admission price.
You may want to gather friends for a seasonal get-together or plan a day away from the office with co-workers or congregate with neighbors—come with any group of 15 or more during the week and everyone saves.
Excitement Builds Waiting to See Show for First Time
Laura Collier is Marketing Associate at The New York Botanical Garden.
Ah, yes. The first month of a new job. So many exciting possibilities, but also so many questions! I just moved to New York City and just started at The New York Botanical Garden, so there certainly is a lot to learn. Since my first day, I’ve been happy to be thrown right into the mix, learning quickly about the Garden, the events, collections, location of the lunchroom—the general “first-week 101.”
It’s an especially busy time here, preparing for the huge Holiday Train Show, which opens this weekend. It’s been interesting to see how much the staff and volunteers look forward to this event. Whenever someone mentions the Holiday Train Show, their voice changes a bit. When they find out that I’ve never been to the show, they immediately drop what they are doing to tell me about how beautiful the Conservatory looks when it’s all decorated and lit up or about their favorite landmark replica, like Yankee Stadium or the Brooklyn Bridge. Maybe they even mention that they secretly like The Little Engine That Could™ Puppet Show and that they are glad to have a 3-year-old nephew to use as an excuse to see it again this year. (Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.)
The NY Times, TV, and Even the New York Lottery Charmed
Nick Leshi is Associate Director of Public Relations and Electronic Media.
The Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden has been a magical must-see for more than 1 million visitors over the past 17 years. Edward Rothstein of The New York Times called it “exhilarating,” marveling at “the wonders of this annual show” that presents “New York through a looking glass.”
David Hartman, popular television personality, produced and narrated a charming documentary about the Holiday Train Show, revealing how the structures are made from natural materials and displayed to the delight of visitors of all ages. The documentary aired last year 528 times across the country on 285 PBS stations.
In case you missed it, below is a clip of the show. You can catch the entire program tonight, December 11, at 10:30 p.m. on Channel Thirteen/WNET-TV. It will air again several times during December on PBS, including on WLIW-TV; check the online schedule. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer or holiday gift for a loved one (or for yourself), the documentary is available on DVD at Shop in the Garden
After viewing the clip, you’ll see why the Holiday Train Show has been a sought-after location for singular New York events. That tradition again rang true last week when the New York Lottery awarded more than $17 million to two winners before replicas of the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and others and to the delight of a festive crowd of visitors young and old that erupted into spontaneous congratulatory applause.
There have been other occasions over the years when Holiday Train Show visitors received an additional unexpected treat, including a marriage proposal between New York City police officers that was nationally broadcast on the Today show and a mayoral press conference that touted the wonders of the holiday season in New York. Amid the glow of twinkling lights in the Botanical Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the Holiday Train Show proved the perfect magical setting for these memorable events.
Make your own memories by coming to see the Holiday Train Show in person, through January 11, 2009. Tickets are available for purchase on the Garden’s Web site. See for yourselves what Mr. Rothstein in his review described as “this phantasmagorical landscape, which at twilight comes alive with illumination.”
We know you’ve been anxious for the Holiday Train Show to open its doors–we’re right there with you! And truth be told, ever since preparation began in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory two weeks ago, it’s been a struggle for those of us at Plant Talk to keep our excitement in check (and why would we even want to, at that?) Watching the bridges and tracks being put in place, seeing this year’s layout take shape under the careful attentions of Paul Busse and his Applied Imagination team–it’s left us daydreaming over how spectacular everything will look under the lights this weekend.
