There are 20 gates to Central Park, 20 breaks in the low stone wall that otherwise prevents pedestrians from crossing into its quiet confines. 20 gates that are hardly noticeable, for they are unadorned but for a name carved into the stone. But the names! What names! At Central Park South and 6th Ave. there is the Artist's Gate. The Explorer's Gate, at 77th St., is a few blocks south of the Hunter's Gate, at 81st St; a bit further up Central Park West the curious will find Mariner's Gate and All Saint's Gate.

The Boy's Gate and the Girl's Gate are located across the park from one another, the latter at E. 102nd St., while the former lies at W. 100th St. The Women's Gate is at the corner of Central Park West and 72nd St. Curiously, there is no Men's Gate.

The stripped down aesthetic of the gates, along with the low stone wall they interrupt, are both elements in the designer's original vision of the park. Olmsted and Vaux saw the park as a symbol of the American republic, a pastoral and truly democratic space where one could escape the madness of the city. Their design, however, encountered resistance from the wealthy citizens who lived along the park, and felt their presence should be marked by tall, European-style gates. One proposal would have replaced the simplicity of the Artisan's Gate, at Central Park South and 7th Ave., with an enormous plaza inspired by French urbanist-style gates. Olmsted, for his part, declared that "an iron railing always means thieves outside or bedlam inside," and he was outraged by this attempt to go against the park's original design.

The names of the gates were chosen by the Parks Commission in 1862, and are meant to represent the kinds of people who might utilize the new park. There is Farmer's Gate, Warrior's Gate, and Scholar's Gate. There is Children's Gate, beyond the entrance of which lies a playground. My favorite is Stranger's Gate, which sits at 106th St. and Central Park West.












Christo and Jean-Claude's 'The Gates', completed in 2005, consisted of 7500 'gates', standing 16' and festooned with saffron-colored fabric. 'The Gates' marked the path for 23 miles in Central Park, took 25+ years to complete, and stood for a total of 16 days. One imagines Christo and Jean-Claude were perfectly aware of the 20 gates opening onto Central Park from the metropolis beyond. The shimmering beauty of their short-lived creation offered a glamorous counterpoint to the restrained sublimity of the original Central Park Gates. Vaux suggested that it would be wonderful if there could be no gates. Perhaps, but 'The Gates', the gates, of Central Park remind us that gates are only the names we give them.