Christo and Jeanne-Claude's The Gates in NYC is already twenty years old

2025 is the year of anniversaries for Christo and Jeanne-Claude: New York celebrates 20 years of The Gates, an installation that Domus has chronicled in its pages since its conception in 1980.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005 New York City, 2005. Photo: Wolfgang Volz © 2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

It's February 12, 2005, and as New York City grapples with the aftermath of 9/11, a ray of brightness shines through the dreary winter of Central Park: “The Gates,” Christo e Jeanne-Claude's  major project for the city's green lung, is finally open to the public.

7,503 vibrant gates, modeled after the torii gates found along the route to Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, stand approximately five meters tall and vary in width, positioned along the park's pathways with a spacing of around three meters between each. Each frame features fabric panels in a vibrant saffron shade at the top, swaying gracefully in the wind.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005 New York City, 2005. Photo: Wolfgang Volz © 2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

This endless sequence of gates was visible even from the surrounding skyscrapers, through the bare branches of the trees. A river of gold for those who observed it from afar, or a golden ceiling for those who decided to cross the path on foot. The work remained in Central Park for sixteen days, after which the portals were removed and the materials industrially recycled.

This year marks the 20th anniversary: starting February 12, an augmented reality experience will allow visitors to relive The Gates in Central Park, accessible via the free Bloomberg Connects app. At the same time, a major exhibition will open at The Shed, dedicated to several unfinished projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude and the twenty-five years of the making of The Gates project.

Early image of "The Gates: An Augmented Reality Experience" in Central Park to be available through the Bloomberg Connects app in February 2025 © 2025 Joe Pugliese and Dirt Empire

Yes, it took a full twenty-five years for the work of one of contemporary art's best-known couples to come to life, and Domus has followed its development from the beginning: in issue 609 of September 1980, when the project was first announced, Jeanne-Claude and Christo told how since April of that year negotiations had been underway with the city's institutions, which were not enthusiastic about granting the city space to this initiative – Christo himself quotes significantly to explain the difficulties they would face “There are 2 holy things in New York: Motherhood and Central Park”.

Christo, The Gates (Project for Central Park, New York City) Drawing 2003 in two parts, Pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, technical drawing, aerial photograph, fabric sample, and kraft paper. Property of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation Photo: André Grossmann © 2003 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

A March 5, 1981, article from the New York Times outlined the challenges highlighted by the Parks Department of the city: the initiative would likely draw excessive crowds, transforming it into a public spectacle that could harm the park, while also hindering its upkeep during the setup and dismantling phases. Additionally, the financial implications of the operation and the troubling notion of allowing private entities to profit from such a vital public area were significant concerns. In short, this was the wrong work, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005 New York City, 2005. Photo: Wolfgang Volz © 2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

An update on Christo's battle for New York is reported by Domus in its July 1981 issue, in a blurb titled “Battles in Progress,” and the project re-discussed in an interview with Christo by Lisa Licitra Ponti, dated January 9, 1986, and published in Domus issue 670 in March of that year. On this occasion, Christo recounted projects in the making, including the one to pack the Reichstag in Berlin (which would later take place in 1995) not without difficulties. But while a citizens' committee had spontaneously formed in Berlin in support of the initiative, a 235-page book of accusations against the making ofThe Gates had just been delivered to him from New York.

From Domus 690, March 1986.

It took another nineteen years for the project to finally be realized: the Big Apple's then mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, during the inauguration of the installation, emphasized how public art could play an important role in the life of the city, both from an economic point of view, given the large number of activities and tourists expected, and from a social, historical and cultural point of view, enriching the city's heritage and creating a new opportunity for aggregation.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude at The Gates. New York City, febbraio 2005. Foto: Wolfgang Volz © 2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

In addition to the 20th anniversary of The Gates, 2025 marks three other important events: the 90th anniversary of the birth of Christo and Jeanne – Claude, both born on June 13, 1935; the 30th anniversary of the “Wrapped Reichstag” in Berlin in June; and the 40th anniversary of “The Pont Neuf Wrapped” in Paris in September – for the occasion reinterpreted by French artist JR with an installation planned for September 2025.

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