Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha

Card no 344 - Danielle

 

The model railroad garden in Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha, Nebraska, is just part of a living museum of unique four-season plant displays, maintained to the highest standards consistent with environmental stewardship.

The website suggests you "Escape to an urban oasis of beauty and tranquillity to experience the glory of the garden. Discover a hidden sanctuary in the heart of the city. Relax while cultivating your mind in this living plant museum, conveniently located in the beautiful riverfront hills."

This is the model railroad garden and features a G-scale model trains running through a miniature world of twiggy trestles, wooden bridges, landmark buildings and other structural elements created from natural materials.

Union Station, Omaha

Card no 327 - Danielle

Union Station, Omaha featured in this posting.  This photo of it is from the Durham Museum photo archives.

And some Christmassy stamps... 

Christmas at Union Station, Omaha

Card no 325 - Danielle

The Union Station, at 801 South 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is "one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Midwest."  Designated an Omaha Landmark in 1978, it was listed as "Union Passenger Terminal" on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.    It was the Union Pacific's first Art Deco railroad station, and the completion of the terminal "firmly established Omaha as an important railroad terminus in the Midwest."

Designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood of Los Angeles, the current building features a steel frame structure that is clad with cream-colored glazed terra cotta.  Groundbreaking occurred on July 29, 1929, and the building was completed on January 15, 1931.  Of the building's design, Underwood was said to have remarked, "We have tried to express the distinctive character of the railroad: strength, power, masculinity.

Christmas at Union Station is a tradition that dates back to its opening when Union pcific would transport an evergreen from the Pacific North-west. Nowadays the celebration includes musical performances and a visit from Santa and Mrs Claus.