Magic, Dream and Fantasy Permeate The New York Botanical Garden’s Yearly Train Show and Glow

A passage to New York’s iconic landmarks through immersive botanic architecture

The New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) Holiday Train Show is now into its 31st anniversary. Beginning with a small-scale event in 1992 with just four trains and 15 replicas of New York landmarks, the show has expanded into a massive annual event dazzling and enchanting visitors of all ages to a make-belief world set in one of the most iconic gardens in the world. The show’s main venue is the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the iconic Victorian glasshouse, that features nearly 200 of the city’s landmarks with 25 G-scale trains and trolleys meandering past or above them along a half-mile track.

In harmony with their botanic surroundings, the city’s landmarks are all created from natural plant materials created from tree branches, twigs, leaves, seeds, twigs, barks, acorns, cinnamon sticks, and reeds. The concept of botanical architecture was originally developed by Applied Imagination’s founding visionary, Paul G. Busse. Established in 1991, Applied Imagination was the result of Busse’s work with landscaping, garden railroads, and his use of plant material. Since 1992, Busse and his team have been meticulously handcrafting the miniature landmarks for the show. Based in Northern Kentucky, they harvest much of their materials from the forest surrounding them.

In recent times the main show has now acquired a special dimension with the addition of NYBG Glow, the display of the garden’s sights, grounds, and buildings with incandecent lights and sounds. Among others, both the Haupt Conservatory and the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building transform into glittering canvases. NYBG Glow adds a magical dimension to the Train Show accentuating the holiday spirit.

Here are several highlights from my recent visit to this year’s show:

A constellation of Midtown and Lower Manhattan’s most famous landmarks frame the show

A constellation of sixteen replicas including St. Patrick’s Cathedral, The Freedom Tower, The Empire State Building, Oculus, Rockefeller Plaza, the Statue of Liberty among others serves as a focal point of the Show. (Photo by the author)

The show is a tribute to the intricate network of trains and bridges linking the city far and wide

Originally constructed by shipping tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Grand Central Terminal, one of the largest train stations in the world, had its debut in 1871. After a ten-year reconstruction beginning in 1903, it reopened in 1913. Oak leaves and acorns adorn the architecture of Grand Central and the miniature above is a tribute to the original Vanderbilt motto: “From an acorn, a mighty oak shall grow.” (Photo by the author)

Replica of the two-story historic Bartow–Pell Mansion designed in the mid-nineteenth century. It includes a three-story carriage house; terraced gardens overlooking Long Island Sound, a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by the author)

Highland Gardens was the home, farm, nursery, and garden of prominent Newburgh native and pioneering landscape architect Andrew J. Downing. It is regarded as the founding site for American landscape design. (Photo by the author)

Lyndhurst (also known as Jay Gould estate) is a National Historic Landmark. Gould purchased the property in 1880 to use as a country house, changed its name to “Lyndhurst” and remained there until his death in 1892. (Photo by the author)

The show is a time travel to the city’s past landmarks that once towered its landscape

Model of the original Penn Station (1901–1963), a Beaux-Arts masterpiece with multiple architectural concepts and styles. The demolition of this iconic building led to the growth of the modern historic preservation movement, saving the City’s other landmark, the Grand Central Terminal from being demolished. This replica is one of the largest in the Holiday Train Show, with a footprint of 20 square feet. (Photo by the author)

An architectural showcase, the Elephantine Colossus was a seven-story tall structure that stood above Surf Avenue and West 12th Street in Coney Island’s iconic amusement park, the Luna Park, from 1885 until 1896, when it burnt down in a fire. During its 12-year existence, the thirty-one-room building functioned as a hotel, concert hall, and amusement center. (Photo by the author)

The Luna Park Tower was 200 feet tall decorated with 20,000 incandescent lamps. (Photo by the author)

The original Yankee Stadium in the Bronx served as the home of the Yankees for 85 years until 2008. On its opening night on April 18, 1923, Babe Ruth hit a three-run home run leading to the Yankees defeating the Boston Red Sox by a score of 4–1. (Photo by the author)

The creative, cultural and entertainment dimensions of the city come alive in miniature landmarks

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, often referred to as the main branch of the New York Public Library system, is a Beaux-Arts landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan. Constructed by the architectural firm Carrere and Hastings, the structure opened on May 23, 1911. The replicas of the two lion sculptures that flank the entrance to the library are a testimony to the artistic integrity of the creators to minute details. (Photo by the author)

Replica of Cooper Union founded in 1859 by industrialist and philanthropist, Peter Cooper. From its inception, Cooper Union opened its doors to the working class, both men and women, as well as native Americans. It was in the Great Hall of the Copper Union that Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Council of Women in 1888. Cooper Union offers a world-class education in art, architecture, and engineering. (Photo by the author)

This triumphal arch in the Washington Square Park honors George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States, and the democratic principles he espoused. Arc de Triomphe in Paris, built a half-century earlier, influenced the design of the structure. (Photo by the author)

The Metropolitan Museum presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world. Founded in 1870, this is the replica of the original Met around 1880, at its existing site on Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street. It had briefly moved to the Douglas Mansion at 128 West 14th Street. The current MET building has been the result of subsequent expansions. (Photo courtesy of S.K. Chaudhuri)

Model of the mansion built by the pioneering industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919). Frick Collection is a repository of masterpieces of Western painting, sculpture, and decorative art, set in an elevated botanical setting on Fifth Avenue. (Photo by the author)

Model of the Radio City Music Hall(L), a premier art deco structure that has served as one of the city’s main entertainment centers since 1933. Replica of the historic neo-classical Apollo Theater (R) has remained as a major center of American music genres of jazz, swing, R&B, gospel, blues, and soul. (Photos by the author)

The show is a tribute to both well-known and lesser-known structures

Replica of Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square in New York City. Established in 1858, Macy’s unique design aims to elevate one’s shopping experience. (Photo by the author)

Angel of the Waters, the sculpture that tops the fountain in Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, was designed by Emma Stebbins in 1873. It is one of the most recognizable icons in the entire park. Stebbins designed the statue to celebrate the new Croton Aqueduct which not only fed the fountain, but also supplied fresh water to a city. (Photo by the author)

Built between 1959 and 1962, the original TWA Flight center, an Eero Saarinen masterpiece, is re-created with its wing-shaped roof made of enormous sea grape leaves. (Photo by the author)

Replica of Austen House in Staten Island named after New York’s legendary female photographer Alice Austen (1866–1952). Austen’s works boldly challenged social norms and depicted the rapid changes in New York City around the turn of the twentieth century through more than 7000 photographs. (Photo by the author)

The Park Avenue Armory built in 1861 serves as a venue for unconventional works in the performing and visual arts. (Photo by the author)

The show celebrates two of NYBG’s crown jewels

Constructed by Lord & Burnham Company and completed in 1902, the Haupt Conservatory is considered one of the most iconic glasshouses in the country. Its design features are inspired by the Palm House at the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Crystal Palace in London. (Photo by the author)

Built in 1896, LuEsther T. Mertz Library is the largest botanical research library in the U.S. A tree-lined avenue leads to the museum building. A fountain, called ‘The Fountain of Life’ designed in the Italian Baroque style, stands at the entrance of the building. A model train runs past the building. (Photo by the author)

NYBG Glow

Into its fourth year, the NYBG Glow provides a fitting complement to the Train Show with an enchanting and whimsical decoration of lights throughout the grounds. The pathways, the Haupt Conservatory and the Mertz Library Building are lit up with colors with thousands of energy-efficient LED lights and festive installations. A leisurely stroll through the Garden’s 1.5-mile colorful pathway has the feel of a dreamy walk-through fantasy island. It’s all an ideal setting for a lasting family holiday memory.

The Haupt Conservatory puts on a glorious show of lights. (Photo by the author)

Twinkling topiaries radiate with sparkles at the center of the garden. (Photo by the author)

The Mertz Library puts on an awesome display of colors. (Photo by the author)

Pathways inside the garden aglow in lights and colors. (Photo by author)

The native plant garden turns into a luminous lake. (Photo by the author)

NYBG’s Yearly Train Show and Glow for the current season will come to end on January 13. It will return later this year for its 32nd season.