The Orange Is Leaving the Park

Starting Monday, 5,290 tons of steel, 165,000 bolts and self-locking nuts, 315,491 linear feet of vinyl tubes, and 1.067 million yards of traffic-cone-orange fabric will be packed up and carted off to processing plants across the country for recycling.

All that will be left of the 23 miles of "The Gates" will be the memories.

But before "The Gates" are gone, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to fan out through the park this weekend to watch the bright, nylon fabric twist and balloon in the wind one last time.

Some viewers of "The Gates" have compared the structures with those found at the entrances of Japanese Shinto shrines. Others have likened the fabric to shower curtains. In discussing the installation, the artist, Christo, and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, have said their inspiration for the design was culled from years of travel and observation. While they have been loath to discuss the meaning of "The Gates," preferring to leave interpretations to the viewer, there is little mystery about how they plan to make it disappear. Next week, teams of "paid volunteers" will start working methodically through sections of the park to dismantle the 16-foot structures. The schedule calls for all 23 miles of gate-occupied pathways to be vacated by mid-March, weather permitting. But dismantling "The Gates" may take more than two weeks, according to Harriet Irgang, a spokeswoman for Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

During this time, park officials believe "The Gates" will still draw crowds. "It is not like the park is going to be closed," a representative for the Parks Department, Carli Smith, said. "I think because the break-down process is so complicated, it will be a pleasant surprise for people that they can see the gates as they are dismantled."

Once loaded onto trucks, remnants will be hauled off to be melted down or re-manufactured as steel plates and coils, PVC pipes and vinyl fencing, and spools of new nylon thread, in processing plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Bronx. No parts will be sold as souvenirs or to raise money for future projects, Christo and Jeanne-Claude said. Nothing will be left behind.

The process may be slow moving, but the immediate impact of the $21 million spectacle is already being felt, especially in the pockets of merchants. According to the Parks Department, the installation's opening weekend attracted more than 700,000 people to Central Park, an unprecedented number for mid-February, when the park typically sees no more than 65,000 visitors on the weekends.

The Economic Development Corporation expects that the city will surpass the original estimate of $80 million in revenues for city businesses during the two-week run, Ms. Smith said.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, sought after for the sweeping views of the park from its roof garden, drew more than 200,000 visitors, twice the number the museum normally records at this time of the year, according to the chief communications officer for the Metropolitan, Elyse Topalian.

Meanwhile, tourists packed around vendors' tables, sifting through rows of T-shirts, posters, and framed prints for one last keepsake. Christo and Jeanne-Claude have said they plan to donate all proceeds to Nurture New York's Nature and the Central Park Conservatory. Visitors could also receive swatches of nylon fabric from special "Gates" monitors. Many of those swatches are now selling on eBay for $20 apiece.

A small army of security teams is to remain deployed throughout the park during the dismantling, though acts of vandalism have so far been limited to occasional scribbling, which Ms. Smith said is easily wiped off the nylon. Although vandalism and theft are among their major concerns, increased vigilance at the disassembly sites will help deter "Gates" devotees from clipping a piece of the project for themselves.

Already dismantled is artist Geoff Hargadon's "Somerville Gates," a whimsical miniature spinoff of "The Gates." For two weeks, the $3.50 temporary installation, composed of 16 portable 3.5-inch-high gates, snaked through his apartment, weaving through doorways and over toilet seats, attracting a total of four visitors and Edie the cat. Mr. Hargadon's work came down several days ago when the artist's cleaning lady came to sweep up. Other modest Christo-inspired projects such as "The Buckets" and "The Crackers" also came down last week, having stood for less than 25 minutes.