Photos courtesy of Columbus Metropolitan Library
Photo courtesy of Franklin Park Conservatory
On the topic of Applied Imagination’s holiday train displays, the word on the tip of everyone’s tongue seems to be “magic.”
“There’s something about it that’s really magical in this weird, kind of childlike way,” says Bonnie Roche, exhibitions manager at Franklin Park Conservatory.
“Every day has got a little extra piece of magic in it,” says Applied Imagination Lead Botanical Architect Cindy Johnson.
Kentucky-based Applied Imagination has earned national renown for its public garden exhibits, seasonal displays and model railways. They are designed by a dedicated team of artists and architects, who take pride in their work and bounce ideas off one another like Hollywood screenwriters.
“I want to just leave my cubicle, set up a lawn chair and just watch” the architects at work, says Ben Zenitsky, marketing and communications specialist for the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
There’s something about it that’s really magical in this weird, kind of childlike way.
It’s appropriate that Applied Imagination would have two holiday train displays here in Columbus, given that company founder Paul Busse is an alumnus of The Ohio State University. Busse’s very first model train display was at the Ohio State Fair in 1982, and he recalls sleeping at the fairgrounds in a sleeping bag in the middle of his train display due to his financial situation.
Applied Imagination has developed collections that travel from one venue to the next, such as Who Lives Here, a series of fantastical interpretations of animal homes, all built around a steadily winding model train. Another recent installation took place at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, and was inspired by some of George Vanderbilt’s favorite places to travel.
Photo courtesy of Franklin Park Conservatory
Photo courtesy of Columbus Metropolitan Library
Photo courtesy of Franklin Park Conservatory
Photo courtesy of Franklin Park Conservatory
The train tracks are always unique to the space in which they are displayed, and are never set up the same way twice. The conservatory, for example, hired Applied Imagination to set up the Enchanted Express exhibition in 2007, and the conservatory fell so in love with the fairy tale houses that it wound up buying them.
Fast forward to 2010, and the Conservatory made these houses the centerpiece for its annual holiday showcase. They now sit nestled in a carousel, which slowly spins and plays music while the train weaves through it.
The Huntington Holiday Train has been a holiday mainstay at the library’s main branch since 2009, with all sorts of holiday programming centering on the train.
“This is something that just transports you,” Zenitsky says. “What better place for that than a library?”
Maddi Rasor is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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