Formerly an abandoned above ground freight train track, the High Line is now a 1.45-mile greenway lined with wildflowers and native shrubs, sleek sculptures, wooden benches and chaises overlooking the Hudson River. The concrete path spans from Gansevoort Street north to West 20th Street, winding through the historically significant neighborhoods of Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and the Meatpacking District near 10th Avenue.
Ironically, the train track had been built in the 1930s to appeal to people’s love of coastal transportation (as well as to alleviate ground traffic below); however, it took repurposing the elevated area to truly make it popular with the public. The idea to save the space came to two strangers, Robert Hammond and Josh David, when they met at their local neighborhood meeting in 1999. The new pals soon decided to partner up to create “Friends of The High Line,” a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving a piece of history from demolition.
Over the course of three years, Hammond and David gained the city’s support in converting the track, which saw it’s last train in the 1980s, into a public place. In 2003, they held an open design competition to find the best, most innovative and suitable look for the future parkland. The winners: Manhattan’s very own James Corner Field Operations, the superb landscape and urban design firm, in collaboration with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
Since opening in June 2009, the park has not only attracted millions of people, but also garnered lots of media attention: Wallpaper magazine called it “The Life Enhancer of the Year” and the New York Times labeled it one of “the most culturally significant projects.” Though it turns only a year old this June, the High Line has become a testament of what the passion of a few individuals, who chose not to forget the past and fought to preserve it for generations to come, can accomplish.
To learn more about the High Line and it’s future expansion to West 34th Street, visit thehighline.org.
[Photography by Inessah Selditz]
Published on May 15, 2010
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