#287 / High Line

Speaking of transforming one human-created reality into another (I am alluding to yesterday's posting on my Two Worlds blog), I am here presenting a picture of New York City's High Line Park. Click the link to see lots more pictures. Information on the history of the park can be found right here. 

I had heard about the High Line before my recent trip. The first section opened in 2009, and a second section in 2011. Despite having heard great reviews, I just hadn't seemed to get there on earlier trips. This time around, as I waited for a New Yorker Festival event scheduled for a venue on West 23rd Street, I suddenly realized that the High Line Park was right up the block. It currently runs from Gansevoort Street to West 30th, in the vicinity of 10th Avenue. I recommend a ramble on the High Line if you are ever in New York City.

The High Line was built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned by the City of New York, and is maintained and operated by Friends of the High Line. Founded in 1999 by community residents, Friends of the High Line fought for the High Line’s preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was under the threat of demolition. 

Friends of the High Line is now a nonprofit conservancy, working with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to make sure the High Line is maintained as an extraordinary public space, and to raise funds for the preservation and transformation of the High Line at the Rail Yards, the third and final section of the historic structure. When the latest extension is accomplished, the High Line Park will run from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street. I checked out that new part, too!

The High Line is a pretty impressive historic preservation and transformation project. Don't miss it when you are in New York.

And don't miss one of the lessons that I think we can draw from the High Line Park project: the world we most immediately inhabit is a world that we build ourselves (and that we can transform at our will). 

Image Credit: 
Gary A. Patton