‘Tis the season for miniature creations in New York City apparently – beyond the annual train show at the New York Botanical Garden and in Grand Central Terminal, the $8.5 million Astolat Dollhouse currently in Columbus Circle’s Time Warner Center, and in 2017 there will be “the largest, most intricate, most technologically advanced” miniature display on the ground floor of the former New York Times building in Times Square. As reported by Crain’s New York, the man who built Mini Israel in Jerusalem hopes to build “Gulliver’s Gate,” a $30 million tourist attraction that will include 300+ mini buildings and 1,000 model trains. These 3D printed miniatures will include landmarks likeGrand Central Terminal, Times Square, and other places around the world. If the rendering is accurate, there’s even the Calatrava train station at World Trade Center which has not opened yet.
Akin to the Queens Museum miniature of New York City, where you can adopt a building, at Gulliver’s Gate you’ll be able to 3D scan and print yourself “to become a Lilliputian citizen in the display,” writes Crain’s, along with other tech innovations.
The team is working with architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle, model train companies Walthers and Faller, Brooklyn Model Works and others for this feat.
For now, don’t miss the top 10 secrets of Times Square and check out The Eternal Space, a play about the demolition of Penn Station now playing on 42nd Street.
