Trains, Tricks & Treats in the Model Railroad Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Hallowfest at Chicago Botanic Gardens. Photo courtesy Chicago Botanic Gardens.
Enjoy a frightfully good time at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s popular Model Railroad Garden during Trains, Tricks & Treats on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In celebration of Halloween and its closing weekend for the season, the Model Railroad Garden will be decorated with spider webs, ghosts, goblins, and pumpkins, as well as seasonal plant materials.
Families are invited to come in costume and trick-or-treat for prizes and candy throughout the 7,500-square-foot garden. See figurines of trick-or-treaters on Main Street, bats and crawly creatures, a graveyard, and more, all tucked among miniature scenes of America’s best-loved landmarks and beautiful gardens planted to scale. Children will also have the opportunity to pot up a catmint plant.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Model Railroad Garden, and visitors will see a special train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line chugging around the White House—it’s the train line that once transported Abraham Lincoln. Visitors will see a vegetable garden and swing set in front of this year's White House. New landmarks include Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Also, see the “W” sign atop Wrigley Field and hear Harry Caray singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game!”
“Landmarks of America” trains speed on nearly 1,700 feet of track through miniature scenes of the USA’s most treasured sites. More than 5,000 tiny plants of 250 varieties recreate the geographical landscape of America. Vignettes of tiny people and animals give the exhibition a storybook feel. Sound effects and a working geyser capture imaginations.
Paul Busse of Applied Imagination, Alexandria, Ky., helped design and create the “Landmarks of America” exhibition. Busse’s fascination with trains began at age five when he received an American flyer train. By 1982, he was a landscape architect and entered a competition for model train gardens at the Ohio State Fair. Since then, he has enjoyed a career in train garden design. His exhibitions are in numerous private and public spaces, including botanic gardens in New York and Atlanta.
The Model Railroad Garden is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Sunday, Oct. 25.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 3-12 (Garden members save $1 per ticket). Parking is $20 per car; free for Garden members. Strollers are not permitted in the “Landmarks of America” exhibition. Stroller parking is located near the entrance. For information, call (847) 835-5440, or visit www.chicagobotanic.org.
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