Mini-Gates, Tribeca style
An unknown artist, inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” in Central Park, has created a miniature version of that public art display on the southwest corner of Canal and Watts Sts.
The Downtown gates display is comprised of 14 orange flags, supported by metal sticks, a foot off the ground, that snake their way over 15 ft. of a small, vacant lot. Beverly Cheuvront, a Tribeca resident, first noticed the creation while she was walking her dog on President’s Day morning. “I had been a skeptic of the Central Park Gates, because I thought there were much better ways to spend the money,” said Cheuvront, who works at the Partnership for the Homeless. “But when I walked past the miniature gates I saw how this wonderful creation had transformed that bleak lot.” Most of the gates have collapsed now, as much of the snow that at first supported them has since melted. The lot is slated to be developed into condos.
