'The Gates' return to NYC's Central Park 20 years later, but in a new form

CBS News

11-02-2025

NEW YORK - The Gates art installation in Central Park made quite a mark on New York City back in 2005. They're back 20 years later, but this time in augmented reality.
The Gates was a site-specific work of art by the duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. There were 7,503 gates along 23 miles of footpaths throughout the park. A panel of saffron colored fabric hung from each 16-foot-high gate for just 16 days in February 2005. It cost about $21 million at the time.
The Gates in Central Park 2025
Now, there's a commemorative exhibit on display at The Shed in Hudson Yards and, starting Wednesday, there's the augmented reality experience in the park.
Here's how it works.
When you get to Central Park, open the Bloomberg Connects app on your phone, look for a display with a QR code and scan it. You will soon find yourself in the public art installation from 2005.
"We have the photographs and we have the film footage. This is (a) more interactive and more (on site) record of how the project looked," said Vladimir Yavachev, the director of projects for Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
The Gates in 2005
Those who worked on the original Gates project pointed out it's a significant part of the city's history after the 9/11 attacks.
"The city was still recovering from that time and it was a really incredible moment to see everyone come out into the park to connect with one another," said Megan Sheekey of Bloomberg Associates.
"In the newspapers during the project, which said it was so nice to see for the first time New Yorkers look up and enjoy, post 9/11," Yavachev told CBS News New York.
Both hope New Yorkers of all ages are happy to see The Gates resurgence.
"It was an incredibly meaningful project," Sheekey said. "For those of us that have nostalgia for the original project, it's a great celebration of that time but also for the next generation, I think it really is a testament to the power of public art."