The Golden Gate Express Garden Railway is a special exhibition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. The Golden Gate Express is a train layout located in one of the wing of the Conservatory of Flowers, a nice white building nicely located in the Golden Gate Park. It took 30 volunteers from the Bay Area Garden Railway Society less than two weeks to put the display together (10-12 on any given day). My family went to visit the exhibition the first week it opened It is actually the second year they are doing it. I have two daughters (8 and 11) and I was curious to see if they would be interested in the railway. They loved it!
What we liked
- This is so amazing! A train circulates among San Francisco landmarks and among flowers, bonsais type trees all coming from the San Francisco City Gardens. Everything is nicely scaled so the nature really mixes nicely with the buildings.
- The buildings follow the rules of recycling, repurposing, and reusing. Every time you go back to an area of the layout, you discover something new. My children really enjoyed finding what the buildings were made of. Play a game of ‘finding objects’: Download I SPY ON THE GOLDEN GATE EXPRESS game.
Terry Hurley created the Painted Ladies
- The fog!!! Coming from under the Golden Gate Bridge and going down on the city. Twice a day so do not miss it: 11:15 am and 4:15 pm.
- The attention to details is amazing.
- The sounds: every time you move to another area, there are different sounds.
- For younger children, there is a Thomas the Train layout, very simple but it will attract the little ones who may not be interested in the biggest picture.
- We enjoyed talking with Russ Miller from the Castro Valley District and learning more about the layout. If you see a person with a Garden Railways tag, go talk to him or her!
What we did not like so much
- They should put the fog more often during the day. Right now, it is only twice a day at 11:15 am and 4:15 pm.
- We would have loved to be able to circle the exhibit. The way it is, you are just facing it. It would have been so interesting to be able to look at it from every side.
- We parked at the DeYoung Museum and Academy of Sciences parking: expensive. Try to park in the streets.
Know before you go
- The Conservatory of Flowers paths are not wide, avoid double strollers, and if you can, any stroller or a lightweight one.
- If you are interested in creating your own railroad display in your garden, check out Jack Verducci’s book in the gift shop: How to design and build your Garden Railways.
- Most of the .Golden Gate Park roads are closed to cars on Sundays so make sure that you look on the map where it is located and where to park.
- The exhibition runs till April 18th, 2010.
MUSEUM INFORMATION
Conservatory of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
100 John F. Kennedy Drive, San Francisco,
Hours
Tuesday - Sunday: 9 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays except Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The Conservatory is open on Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and Christmas Eve (Until 2 p.m).
The Conservatory is free to all visitors on the first Tuesday of every month.
The Conservatory of Flowers gave my family two complimentary tickets. I received no other compensation besides the tickets, and the Museum did not express any requirement that I express a particular point of view.
