Umbrella Sky Art Installation In Coral Gables Is A Breath Of Fresh Air
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Rich, vibrant, bright - a virtual sensation to senses at the 100 block of Giralda Plaza in Coral Gables, as 720 colorful umbrellas make up the art installation called the Umbrella Sky Project.
Mary Snow, Executive Director of The Coral Gables Community Foundation first spotted the umbrellas while out of town.
"I was traveling up the state and saw this installation in Pensacola and said if Pensacola can have it, we have it. So I contacted the group in Portugal that they did the installation all over the world and we're the third city to have it," said Snow.
Umbrella Sky has been featured in places such as Paris, Lisbon, and Madrid.
Coral Gables is the third city in the United States to welcome this world-famous installation.
Coral Gables Vice Mayor Frank Quesada said it was an immediate yes when the idea was presented.
"How can you say no to this? It's fun, it's lively it's summertime, it's a family experience. It's what we think about in the city of Coral Gables," said the Vice Mayor. "We invested 23 million in this street and miracle mile a few months ago and the idea was how can we continue to spur that growth and we thought it was a great idea when it was brought to us."
CBS4's drone captured these day shots of the umbrellas from above.
Each piece was hand placed as they hang from wires.
The entire project from inception to installation cost the city around $100 thousand dollars, but it certainly appears to be an investment that's working.
"The businesses are thrilled, there have been thousands of people on the street daily, it's all over social media, it's gone viral and business are thrilled," said Snow.
Nicolas Sharp owns the Three Fold Cafe and he says his business is "looking up" as well.
"This summer, in particular, has been really tough the weekend. We were twice, so we were double what we were the week before- yesterday we were triple what we were before, so it's at least doubling what we were before. I want the umbrellas to stay forever," said Sharp.
And for those who came out to stake selfies, stroll or just look up. The Umbrella Sky Project is a breath of fresh air.
"I paint so it's so inspiring. I couldn't wait to be under these colorful umbrellas!" said Rosie Brown from Miami.
The umbrella Sky Project is on through the end of August.