The Highline is New York’s hottest summer attraction

The High Line is New York City’s hottest new summer attraction, serving as a hip new stage for celebrity sitings, musical performances, fashion shoots and people watching . The former elevated railway, cutting north/south through Manhattan’s west side, had been abandoned for decades.

A grand vision that promoted transforming the corridor into a park, had been bounced around for years, but the project seemed like a long shot at best to many NYC natives, who saw the space as an overgrown eyesore. In June the dream finally came true. A talented team of designers pulled off an elegant approach to creating a sleek, urban thoroughfare, while paying homage to the contextual history of the High Line. The first completed section of the High Line opened in June of this year, drawing masses of visitors anxious to see the dream realized.

The History
“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.” – www.thehighline.org

View Historical Photos
The Vision
“March – September 2004:
Friends of the High Line and the City of New York conduct a process to select a design team for the High Line. The selected team is led by James Corner Field Operations, a landscape architecture firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, an architecture firm, and experts in horticulture, engineering, security, maintenance, public art, and other disciplines.” - www.thehighline.org

“The project gained the City’s support in 2002. The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation Inc. in 2005. The design team of landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, created the High Line’s public landscape with guidance from a diverse community of High Line supporters. Construction on the park began in 2006. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, is projected to open in June 2009.” – www.thehighline.org

View the High Line Design