Through the Years

The Garden of Marvels was part of a long tradition of miniature village attractions that were built in Europe.
	Arthur Thuijs - Creator of the Garden of Marvels Arthur Thuijs was the creator of the models that made up the Garden of Marvels. The Dutch born artist began building models of famous structures as part of installations in Germany and Holland. The fifty-four models that made up the Garden of Marvels were first part of an attraction known as "Ministadt Dreiländerblick" in Vaalserquartier, Germany from 1965-1969. From 1969-1973 the models were moved to a new location known as "Cosmorama Miniatura" in Valkenburg aan de Geul, Holland. It was here that Warner LeRoy contracted Arthur Thuijs to bring the models to the United States as part of his vision for Great Adventure. From 1974-1978 the Garden of Marvels featured the original fifty-four models of the other attractions in an elaborate setting created by Arthur Thuijs who had come to the United States to install and take care of the models. After the models were removed at the end of the 1978 season, the whereabouts of them is unknown until they went to the Miniature Kingdom in Washington, New Jersey in 1983. For more about the models and the man who created them, his children have setup a website.
	One of the most intricate construction projects at Great Adventure was the Garden of Marvels which created a miniature world in amazing detail.	CLICK BELOW TO VIEW
Garden of Marvels Press Release from 1974
	The Garden of Marvels area was one of the largest attraction areas in the park when it opened in 1974. The vast site was meticulously created and landscaped to create a world of castles and other miniature structures which could be toured via a winding pathway that led up to a mountain range.
	As part of Warner LeRoy's vision for Great Adventure, much of the park was designed to be larger than life to make the guests feel small. At the same time the Garden of Marvels was designed to create the opposite feeling with the tiny villages filled with tiny people that guests could look down upon, effectively turning the tables on the rest of the park. The pathways wound amoungst miniature rivers while trains, boats, and vehicles of all kinds moved through the scenery bringing a sense of life and movement to the miniature world. The entire area was carefully landscaped with miniature trees and shrubs which created the setting for the impressive model buildings. As spectacular as the Garden of Marvels was, the challenges of maintaining the models and the setting were great. The harsh New Jersey winters took their toll on things along with the thousands of guests tramping through each day in the summer. As Warner LeRoy left Great Adventure and management changed, the emphasis of the park changed from the fantastic to the more thrilling, and the Garden of Marvels no longer fit the new vision for the park. The models, which had been under contract with a 5-year lease, were removed from the park and the area was re-purposed as a miniature golf course. The pond was used for remote controlled boats. Another area was used for remote controlled cars. These were attempts to utilize the existing landscape as new sources of revenue, trying to maintain some of the original spirit of the Garden of Marvels but in new ways.
	Click below to view a video of the Garden of Marvels
The original elements like the trains and the buildings were lost over time, and the landscape became overgrown as time went on.
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The Changing of the Castles
		The removal of the buildings at the end of the Garden of Marvel's 5-year lease included the Neuschwanstein Castle which had been built into the mountains.  This void was filled with a smaller, less impressive model of a castle.  While it was an attempt to maintain the area, the replacement paled in comparison to its predecessor.
	The Garden of Marvels conversion to a miniature golf course lasted from 1979 to 1986.  After that the area was blocked off and fell into disrepair over the seasons. Finally in 1989, the demolition and removal of the Garden of Marvels began.
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CLICK BELOW TO VIEW	The former Garden of Marvels area was valuable real estate in the park, and it was prime for redevelopment. The land was cleared to make way for the Shockwave stand up roller coaster in 1990. The original model buildings of the Garden of Marvels found a new home after they were removed from the park, and were installed in Washington (Warren County) New Jersey as part of the Miniature Kingdom which was an indoor display.	CLICK BELOW TO VIEW
Postcards Featuring the Garden of Marvels
		The picturesque qualities of the Garden of Marvels made it a subject of several of Great Adventure's early postcards.