Holiday Miniature Buildings

This is the traditional time of year for gingerbread houses, but sometimes architectural replicas are made of other unusual materials. George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon, has been reproduced in gingerbread by former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier. The five-foot-wide and two-foot-tall replica will be on display as part of the new Christmas at Mount Vernon event at the historic Virginia home. Not far away in D.C., the U.S. Botanic Garden creates miniature buildings with their annual model train exhibit. Not your run-of-the-mill train miniatures, these are replicas of D.C. landmarks made of plant-based natural materials. Buildings included are the White House, U.S. Capital and new this year is a miniature of the National Museum of the American Indian. A few years ago in London, Chinese artist Song Dong created a city of biscuits and sweets at Selfridges department store. The 12 metre sculpture was composed of 72,000 biscuits, cakes and sweets.