Central Park's 'Gates' to close this weekend
NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's the last weekend for tourists and New Yorkers alike to pass through "The Gates" in Central Park.
The $21 million temporary art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude is on display through Sunday.
The 7,503 gates spread out over 23 miles of the park's paved paths, which are covered with a fresh blanket of snow after a storm Thursday.
Draped with saffron-colored nylon panels, each gate is 16 feet tall and from 5 to 18 feet wide.
"The sight of so many visitors in Central Park in mid-February has been nearly as thrilling as 'The Gates' itself," said Adrian Benepe, commissioner for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
"New Yorkers have been seeing Central Park in a new way, discovering the unique beauty that distinguishes the park during the winter."
Workers will begin taking down "The Gates" on Monday, a process expected to last two weeks.
The artists, who funded the exhibit, plan to recycle the materials, including 5,290 tons of steel -- about two-thirds the amount used to build the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The parks department estimates that more than 1 million people have passed through the exhibit.
