Laura Busse Dolan, an artist behind the project, says each model is handcrafted using botanical materials
NEED TO KNOW
- Applied Imagination’s newest exhibit features 25 of America’s most iconic landmarks made from natural materials like pine cones and bark
- The display also includes 10 running trains and more than 850 feet of track
- “America the Beautiful: National Parks & Landmarks By Rail” will be on display at the Cheekwood Estate & Gardens until September before moving to Washington, D.C.
Laura Busse Dolan says it’s hard to put an exact number on how many hours her team at Applied Imagination spent recreating America’s most iconic landmarks for a new art exhibit in Tennessee. But one thing’s for sure: there are no “shortcuts” for their handmade display.
“These models take so long to build— just all that little hand work with natural materials,” the president and CEO of the Kentucky-based botanical architecture group tells PEOPLE. “Each shingle of a roof could be a pine cone scale, or a leaf or some kind of bark that we’ve foraged from a downed tree in the forest.”
Since 1991, the group has been creating nationally recognized garden railways all across the country. Combining botanical material with G-scale model trains, Applied Imagination’s displays honor the best of what the natural world has to offer.
For their latest project, they were tasked with recreating some of the country’s most iconic landmarks for an installation entitled “America the Beautiful: National Parks & Landmarks By Rail.” Dolan says their longtime client, Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in Nashville, “wanted to do something really special” to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
“It’s one that is heavily focused on the National Parks and then, of course, some of our more important historic landmarks across America,” Dolan tells PEOPLE, adding the display is a curation of both old and new structures. “We even pulled out a few more of our Tennessee-themed models. We’ve got the Smoky Mountains National Park models that we made specifically for Cheekwood, and, of course, we brought back Ryman [Auditorium] and Graceland.”
The entire display features 10 running trains, more than 850 feet of track, and 25 easily recognizable landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Statue of Liberty, the Alamo and more…