The Holiday Train Show Arrives at New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx

The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory miniature created by Applied Imagination for the New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show

Now in its 24th year, The New York Botanical Garden and Applied Imagination have filled the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with the Holiday Train Show. The installation fills the space, with tracks and trains whistling around you at several levels. No matter where you’re standing, you will view treasured landmarks in a colorful garden setting.

Applied Imagination was a twinkle in the eyes of its founder, Paul Busse, at an early age, with a timeline taking him from garden railroads to forming his company, Applied Imagination, in 1991 – with the artistic convergence of landscaping and garden railroads, using plant material to create “botanical architecture.” Using acorns, twigs, bark, berries and leaves, our favorite New York buildings are skillfully created and placed in the conservatory garden setting.

Paul Busse is now retired, but still remains creatively involved. This year, they have increased the size of the exhibit space by 3,000 square feet, adding dozens of new trains, bridges and tracks. The exhibit displays 150 of New York City’s landmarks, many of which we have captured in photos below.

With reservations and the absence of strollers, the first-day crowd moved easily in and around the exhibit

The Lycée Francais de New York flanked on either side by other well-known New York buildings

The Alice Austen House of Staten Island

City Hall

The Belvedere Castle of Central Park

Gracie Mansion

The old Yankee Stadium

Grand Central Terminal

The Guggenheim Museum

The Little Red Lighthouse

The Jewish Museum founded in 1904

The Merchant House (left) and Brooks Brothers Madison Avenue (right), which opened its doors in 1915

The New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, which opened in 1911.

The original Pennsylvania Station (1910-1963)

The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, the former home of the American writer, c. 1797, located on Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx

St. Patrick’s Cathedral opened in 1879 and located at Fifth Avenue and 50th/51st Streets

Grants Tomb (left) and Rose Center for Earth and Space, American Museum of Natural History (right)

The Apollo Theater (left) and Boscobel Museum in Garrison (right)

The Arch in Washington Square Park

The Senator William Andrews Clark House, built in 1907, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 77th Street. It was the childhood home of his daughter, Huguette Clark and was torn down after his death

The Plaza Hotel

Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion, the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair

The Holiday Train Show has a series of related events. Don’t miss Bar Car Nights, where adults get an after-dark viewing of the trains, along with an ice sculpture carving demonstration, Cirque de Light performance, music, food and drinks.

The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at The New York Botanical Garden

The New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show will be on view through January 18, 2016. Located at 2900 Southern Blvd., in the Bronx. You can find more Untapped Cities articles on the Bronx here. Get in touch with the author at AFineLyne.