Source:Wikipedia
New York City Waterfalls was a public art project by
artist Olafur Eliasson,
in collaboration with the Public Art Fund,
consisting of four man-made waterfalls
placed around New York City
along the East River.
At $15.5 million, it was the most expensive public arts project since Christo and
Jeanne-Claude's installation of The Gates in Central Park. The
waterfalls officially began flowing on June 26, 2008. They ran from 7 am to 10
pm (under illumination after sunset), until October 13, 2008.
The sites chosen for the four
waterfalls were Pier 35 in Manhattan,
beneath the Brooklyn Bridge
in DUMBO, Brooklyn,
between piers 4 and 5 — also in Brooklyn — and Governors Island.
Work on erecting the four support scaffolds began in
mid-March, 2008. Once completed, the scaffolding would total 64,000 square feet
(5,900 m2) and weigh 270
tons. Eliasson has said that the scaffolds themselves were designed to blend in
with their urban surroundings, but that he purposely did not try to conceal
them, explaining he "want[s] people to know that this is both a natural
phenomenon and a cultural one.”
Construction involved the work of 108
different people, including two environmental
consultants. The installation was designed to be
ecologically-friendly. Some example of this are energy efficient LED lighting, energy purchased from renewable sources and the
filters used to keep aquatic life from taking a ride up-and-over the waterfall.
When the project closed the materials were made available for re-use in a
future project.
The over $15 million dollar project
had no city funding and was paid for entirely by private organizations,
business and donors. Mayor Bloomberg's
company, Bloomberg LP,
donated $13.5 million. With estimates that the waterfalls could generate up to
$55 million for the local economies, the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation gave $2 million to the effort.
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