The High Line is a park (and pedestrian walkway) that runs from 14th Street up to 34th Street on the West Side of Manhattan. What makes it different from other parks is that it isn't on the ground, but "up in the air": it occupies an area that was previously an elevated railway track. The railway transported material to and from factories, but in "post-industrial" New York the factories closed and so did the railway. The area was abandoned and nature took over.
with friends like you
A group called "Friends of the High Line" was formed in 1999 and its members campaigned to prevent the city authorites from tearing down the old railway. Not only that, their efforts led to the creation of the park, which is a pleasant addition to the New York landscape.
The High Line runs through two neighbourhoods that have enjoyed a revival in recent years. One is the Meat Packing District which, thanks to its discotheques and restaurants, now has an exciting night life. The other is Chelsea, which has become a major centre for the arts.
a park with a view
The High Line, which is open to the public for most of the day, is also a great vantage point for admiring the famous New York sunset over the Hudson River. The High Line is a good place to go for a walk, but visitors can also make use of its many benches and deck chairs in order to sit down and read a book, sunbathe, chat and just relax. And, like most parks, it has an impressive range of plant life.
night life
During the summer months you can also go for a walk along the High Line at night, as it stays open until 11 p.m. And, if all that walking makes you hungry, then there's plenty of food available. You can stop for home-made ice cream which has been made with the milk of cows from upstate New York...
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INTERVIEW: up in the air
Central Park is beautiful. It is also enormous and occupies 6 per cent of Manhattan, but the rest of the island has little in the way of park space. For this reason the High Line, which runs 30 feet (9 metres) above ground, from 14th Street to 34th Street, is a welcome addition. New York City tour guide David Beld tells its remarkable story:
David Beld (Standard American accent): The High Line was originally an elevated railroad that serviced the factory buildings on the West Side of Manhattan, in kind of the Greenwich Village and Chelsea neighbourhoods. And that originated in about the 1920s, 1930s, and that continued until about (the) 1980s, when there was no longer the factories, and the need for the railroad system, they were now going to trucks, to haul shipments and so forth, and bring in deliveries, so that that was abandoned and basically the area where the train was, was just left alone and actual trees and grasses started to grow from that space: nature in effect was taking over.
But the big question was: what should be done with the area?
David Beld: Many people, some of the landowners there, wanted to tear everything down, just tear it down, open up the space, you know, just get rid of it, but other people said – that lived in the neighbourhood, particularly: “Why don’t we make this into a park? We have so few parks in the southern part of New York, and the parks are so small, this could be very important, to enhance the neighbourhood, by having park space. So a group was formed, called “Friends of the High Line,” and one of the notable celebrities, who lived in the neighbourhood, Edward Norton the actor, was one of the spokespeople for that, and they promoted this with the city government, and eventually achieved success. Under the Mayor Giuliani administration, the plan was to tear it down, but it delayed, and under the Mayor Bloomberg administration, he was for this project and therefore it happened.
people watching
The High Line has been used for art installations and outdoor theatre performances, but David Beld says it is a great place to “hang out” and watch the world go by:
David Beld: People are there, they can have a picnic there, you can have a lunch, and I think that they’re encouraging people to use it in those ways. There are different spaces that are available just to sit and kind of watch the traffic, you can see the Hudson River and the boats going by and so forth. Not only just walking, you can just enjoy the people-watching, and the whole sights and sounds of New York, from this unique view, up above.
For more information: www.thehighline.org.