The Gates, Central Park, New York
In February 2005, after twenty-some years of planning and delay,
Central Park
finally got its Gates.
The Gates, in case you missed them, are more than 7,000 identical
saffron colored upside-down U-shaped pieces of metal with a piece of
fabric hanging from the top.
Strung along the paths through the winter-colored greys and browns
of the Park, these gates cut swaths of bright color that also moved
in the wind.
This extravaganza filled the park with zillions of strolling spectators...
and filled New York hotels at a time of year they usually aren't.
Thanks,
Christo
and Jeanne-Claude, from us -- and from New York tourist
establishments.
The Gates were quite a sight.
In this page, we'll take you through three parts of the Park: the north end, around Harlem Meer and the Meadows; the southern end, in a rainstorm; and the center, near 86th Street.
To get more information and a larger version of any picture,
just click on it.
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The walk from the subway to the park looked the same as always: stores, cars, pedestrians... and the row of trees that mark the eastern edge of the park. But just past the trees, the scene had changed:
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Out in the open, the gates looked more like marching rows rather than orange blobs peeking through the trees:
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Harlem Meer, the lake at the northern end of the park, would be so different without the gates around it:
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The reflection of the gates in the waves was always interesting... and so were the gates in the wind:
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Farther into the park, at the North Meadow, two rows of gates marched toward the west. Again, the wind brought the landscape alive:
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At the south end of the park, a rainstorm made the gates look even brighter:
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We're at the west edge of the park, near 86th Street. Even when they're a small part of the scene, the gates still stand out:
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(These photographs are Copyright © 2005 by Jerry Peek. Much higher-resolution versions of most images, and many other images too, are available at Jerry Peek Photography. Photos are available at reduced prices, or free, for non-commercial use.)