Central Park Plaza to be Transformed Into Gilded Age Ballroom

CENTRAL PARK, NY — In March one of Central Park's entrances will be transformed into a recreation of a grand Gilded Age ballroom.

The public art installation, "Open House," will occupy the Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the southeast entrance of Central Park and is being presented by the Public Art Fund, according to a press release. The installation will feature 26 pieces of cast concrete furniture, designed by Los Angeles-based artist Liz Glynn, according to the release.

The concrete pieces of furniture — chairs, sofas footstools and arches — will be modeled after those found in a relic of Gilded Age New York, the exclusive and now-demolished William C. Whitney Ballroom on 5th Avenue.

“Faced with a growing development boom and an influx of what are referred to as the ‘ultra-rich’, New York City’s socio-economic landscape is undergoing massive changes,” Public Art Fund Associate Curator Daniel S. Palmer said in a statement.

“By reinterpreting an artifact of a period marked by incredible financial growth—and disparity—Glynn connects our present moment to this historical era and makes it accessible to the public. Her installation poses important questions about how we create displays of wealth and the ways in which distinctions between public and private space continue to reinforce and reflect class differences.”

The art installation will open to the public on March 1, 2017 and will run until Sept. 24, 2017 in Central Park's Doris C. Freedman Plaza.

Photos courtesy of Public Art Fund