All aboard The Golden Gate Express at San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers

Posted by admin on Nov 12, 2008

This winter, Golden Gate Park’s Conservatory of Flowers premieres its first garden railway exhibition, The Golden Gate Express.

A celebration of the city of San Francisco, large model trains wind around miniature versions of the city’s landmark buildings, such as the Japanese Tea Garden, the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown’s dragon gate, the Transamerica Pyramid building, the Ferry Building, Coit Tower, Ghirardelli Square, and — of course — the Conservatory of Flowers itself.

Surrounding these landmarks is a magical landscape of miniature gardens and parks created with living plants, including dwarf conifers, tiny orchids, and more.

Aside from delighting the young and young-at-heart, the Conservatory wanted the exhibit to reflect San Francisco’s commitment to sustainability (and the Conservatory’s own environmental mission), and had the miniature landmarks made out of recycled materials.

If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that the Ghirardelli clock tower is tiled with old, chocolate-brown light switch plates, the Transamerica Pyramid is studded with nearly 1,000 keys from computer keyboards, and Coit Tower features a combination of used plumbing supplies, tape measures, and mini-blinds.

While at the exhibit, you can also enjoy a vintage train station seating area, appearances by costumed conductors, and interpretive materials about the development of San Francisco and its railways.

The Golden Gate Express is housed in the conservatory’s special exhibits gallery, which is just one of five of the building’s immersive display galleries. A spectacular living museum of rare and beautiful tropical plants, the wood and glass greenhouse is the oldest existing conservatory in North America, and has attracted millions of visitors to Golden Gate Park since it first opened its doors in 1879.