As visitors enter the NYBG conservatory, they are greeted by dapper train conductors welcoming guests to the 34th annual Holiday Train Show with a loud “all aboard.”
Photo by ET Rodriguez
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It’s that time of the year when colorful stringed lights brighten the streets, people warm their bellies with cups of hot chocolate and festive music plays in stores and restaurants across the city. Most everyone is getting into the spirit of the season, including the New York Botanical Garden as they bring back their 34th annual Holiday Train show filled with nostalgia and wonder.
Designed by the creative team at Applied Imagination, the exhibit merges natural plant life with organic materials and electric engineering. Surrounded by tropical trees and flowers, dozens of buildings create a makeshift city inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory where model trains run on tracks above, below and in opposite directions.
On first glance, the structures look like normal copies of iconic structures across New York, but upon closer inspection, one can notice the seeds, shells, leaves and variety of natural materials used to intricately replicate the buildings from today and yesteryear.
“Plants are beautiful and we use them to create these miniature landscapes, but they’re also the material that is used to make the buildings themselves. It’s a way for us to encourage everyone to take a second look at the natural world and feel like it’s accessible,” said Joanna Groarke, vice president of exhibitions and performances who has overseen the train show at NYBG for the past 15 years.
Front view of the Whitney Museum, one of the newest additions to this year’s Holiday Train Show. Photo by ET Rodriguez
Side view of the Whitney Museum features resin windows that look like glass. Photo by ET Rodriguez
As visitors enter, they are greeted with a loud “all aboard” by train conductors holding lanterns and wearing all blue uniforms. Familiar buildings make a cameo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, the Stephen A. Schwartzman Library on Fifth Avenue with two new structures unveiled this year —the Delacorte Theater in Central Park and the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Meatpacking District.
“A lot of times we’re doing historic buildings, which I love just as much, but it’s a really different challenge to celebrate a modern building,” Laura Busse, CEO and president of Applied Imagination said of the Whitney model. “It’s such a complicated shape. Every piece of bark has to be cut at a slight and different angle to achieve the look of that façade and the same with the leaves that we used on the roof. The challenge really is making sure that we’re doing right to the architectural form.”
Windows made of resin look like glass and reflect flora inside. While the replica was built by Ava Roberts, the actual Whitney was designed by architect Renzo Piano. The newer version of the museum opened in 2015, after being housed at the Breuer Building on the Upper East Side since 1966.
Nine stories tower over the west side highway with floor to ceiling windows, allowing visitors to peer out at gorgeous views of the Hudson River and New Jersey.
“I think Renzo Piano would be very honored and pleased. It’s a reminder that there’s no place like New York City during the holidays,” said Ben Lipnick, assistant director of tourism for the Whitney.
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park has served as the stage for Shakespeare in the Park since 1962. Photo by ET Rodriguez
A close-up of the Metropolitan Museum model reveals the intricate details of the natural materials used to build each structure. Photo by ET Rodriguez
Model trains traverse the entire Holiday Train Show through an array of buildings made entirely or organic materials. Photo by ET Rodriguez
Built in 1962, the Delacorte Theater serves as the stage for Shakespeare in the Park. The miniature version is one of the first buildings patrons are met with when entering the conservatory. The St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a marvel to behold, along with the Bethesda Fountain and the replica of the conservatory itself, but visitors can see the exhibit for themselves and decide which is their favorite.
The show extends outside where the trains continue to chug along bunnies made of wood and it also serves as a sort of an interactive stanchion, providing crowd control for the thousands that visit every year.
Starting Nov. 22, the NYBG will host Holiday Train Show nights when the garden sparkles in the night.
“I think that it really kind of opens your eyes to the architectural magic,” Groarke added.
A model of the George Washington Bridge towers above visitors as a model train chugs by. Photo by ET Rodriguez
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!