• NEW YORK'S ELEVATED PARK

    High LineThe newest addition to the New York City Parks Department’s stable of over 1,700 parks was unveiled on June 8th. The High Line, a former industrial elevated train track, is now a lush, 4.78-acre public park on Manhattan’s West Side, from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking district to West 20th Street in Chelsea, between 10th and 11th Avenues.

    Originally built in the 1930s for more efficient freight travel above street level, the train tracks have been dormant for almost 30 years. Towering 30 feet above ground, the High Line is now an oasis of sorts--green, blossoming and fragrant, amid some aesthetic rust. (See a slideshow of the site.)

    The park's construction began in the spring of 2006 after Friends of the High Line, an organisation dedicated to preserving and transforming the property, raised enough private funding to break ground. Designed by landscape architects James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the High Line’s unique approach to urban renewal retains the existing industrial infrastructure but adds greenery, comfortable benches and lights for evening strolls.  read more »


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