Brandenburg Gate on 3 October 2002 following extensive refurbishment, for the 12th anniversary of German reunification. Brandenburg Gate became the main venue for the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall or "Festival of Freedom" on the evening of 9 November 2009. The high point of the celebrations was when over 1000 colorfully designed foam domino tiles, each over tall, were lined up along the route of the former wall through the city centre. The domino "wall" was then toppled in stages converging here. The Brandenburg Gate is now again closed to vehicle traffic, and much of Pariser Platz has
While the Gate Is Open While the Gate Is Open While the Gate Is Open is the fourth album by saxophonist Gary Thomas which was recorded in 1990 and released on the JMT label. It features Thomas' interpretations of eight jazz standards. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states, "Thomas gives the eight tunes fresh treatments and as usual avoids all clichés (and the logic of bop) in his explorative improvisations." "The Guardian"'s John Fordham noted "This one features the hard-nosed Miles Davis saxophonist Gary Thomas with a fiercely collaborative band of experts... There's a lot of full-on tenor sax blasting over ferocious percussion barrages...