I had been hoping to get to
The High Line since it opened this past summer. Bonnie and Loren were the first to tell me about it when they experienced it on a visit from LA -- ever the explorers! And Jill, who lives just a few blocks away is a regular.
As a licensed urban planner, these types of adaptive reuse projects really thrill me. I respect the ingenious use of long dormant industrial sapce, and the conversion of underutilized facilities via public access initiatives. As a native of the City -- I treasure that they re-define space to spawn community, recreation and public use.
I have never seen this better done anywhere than on The High Line...
From their site -- a bit of history for context:
The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park.
Now, here it is today -- no longer a rail track it's a park that hovers above the City.
Here are some of my fave shots we grabbed on our stroll...they'll give you a sense of the style and scale of the space...
The park makes no excuse for the view it offers, the still derelict elements it moves past, or those vistas not typically scenic. Instead, its charm is proffered as an atypical public space for the taking of those that appreciate its merits...
The walk way meanders, gently moving users from left to right down a random path, peacefully elevated above the din of the streets. The walkway is striated with swaths of old rail, and wild with insets of free roaming weeds and wildflowers.
Here's a map of Section One -- this redeveloped section of the old rail line runs from 14th - 20th Streets, but in the future, the park will extend all the way to 34th Street...
If you find your feet in Manhattan, make time to hit The High Line...and grab lunch at the Chelsea Market (between 15th and 16th Streets)
Jill I am so glad we did.
xxoo Jen
Earth Angels
PS...Jill Claster -- my dear friend and tour guide -- has just published another book,
Sacred Violence. In it she explores the European Crusades to the Middle East -- her long time passion and field of expertise.
Many congrats to you on this Jill, and I cannot wait to read it!
xxoo Jen
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