The High Line is a new public park, built on an elevated 1930s rail structure located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street. The first section of the High Line opened to the public in June 2009. The High Line is property of the City of New York, and is maintained and operated by the non-profit Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
As part of the New Yorker blog’s 2009 Year in Review, architecture critic Paul Goldberger has assembled a list of the Ten Most Positive Architectural Events of 2009. At the top of the list is the High Line; Goldberger writes,
“Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line, the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight line running through West Chelsea.”
Other notables on this (mostly New York-based) list include Thom Mayne’s 41 Cooper Square, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, another Diller Scofidio + Renfro project.
In a way, this mention brings the High Line full-circle. Adam Gopnik’s 2001 New Yorker piece, “A Walk on the High Line”, the story of photographer Joel Sternfeld’s year-long effort to capture the High Line’s wild landscape in all seasons, was responsible for much early public awareness of and support for the High Line project. You can read that article here. [PDF]
Here’s a nice one for the High Line’s trophy case. Co-Founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond, along with architect Charles Renfro of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, were honored with inclusion in Out Magazine’s annual Out 100, joining the likes of Pedro Almodovar, Wanda Sykes and Tony Kushner, among others.
The honorees were photographed by Jason Bell on the High Line as “the Young Botanists”, fitting with the spread’s “Class of 2009” theme, a chic and cheeky nod to high school cliques.
Hot off the presses is this year’s Village VoiceBest of NYC. In it, the Voice gives the High Line a big shout-out by naming it the “Best New Public Space” of 2009, calling the park “quite possibly the most relaxing spot in the city.”
This distinction puts the High Line in the illustrious company of the likes of The Guggenheim (best after hours museum), Doyers Street (best make-out spot) and Hunan House (best fish heads).
BBC Correspondent Jonathan Marcus was in New York a couple of weeks ago, and took a walk on the High Line with Robert.
He produced a 5-minute “From Our Own Correspondent” piece on the High Line, which was broadcast in the UK last week, and will be on the World Service in the coming days.
Besides the fact that it’s about the High Line, we love the simple, narrative format of this series — it’s reminiscent of the BBC’s beloved “Letter from America,” which was the longest running show in radio history. It’s thoughtful, well-paced and unhurried — like a stroll in the park.
The “Goings on About Town” photo in this week’s New Yorker featured a familiar sight to anyone who’s strolled the High Line on a hot day. The Sundeck’s lounge chairs — both rolling and stationary — have become a veritable Mecca for sunbathers.
For those who remember the early iterations of the High Line’s design, the photo also reminds us of something…
Today, a new accolade! For the first time, an article about the High Line made it to the “most-emailed” list on the New York Times web site.
The article, called “The High Line: A Railway Out of Manhattan”, captures the special atmosphere up on the line– “almost a small town in the air… It even inspires crusty New Yorkers to behave as if they were strolling down Main Street.”
As a park visitor explained in the article: “Here people tend to be more friendly… Those same people, you might see them someplace else and, you know,” she broke off, raising her eyebrows, “they’re kind of stressed.”
The Sundance Channel has just debuted a series of ten short vignettes featuring people involved with the High Line project, from photographer Joel Sternfeld, above, to Kevin Bacon, to lead designer James Corner. The series, “High Line Stories”, is available to view on their web site, and will be broadcast on The Sundance Channel throughout the summer.
[Peter Brown, Author/Illustrator, demonstrates his technique at a reading for elementary school students]
This Sunday’s New York Times Book Review featured a review of its current #2 best-selling children’s book: The Curious Garden, a lushly illustrated tale of a boy who finds an expanse of flowers and plants growing in the most unlikely of places: an abandoned elevated rail line.
In last week’s Book Review podcast, author and illustrator Peter Brown talks about his inspiration for the story: the High Line, “this lush, wild garden area that was taking care of itself. It was really this pretty miraculous site. And so when I discovered that place, when I first moved to New York, I decided that I wanted to make a book about nature living in the city in sort of an unlikely way.”
You can listen to the interview here. If you missed the readings at 192 Books and Books of Wonder, check out Peter Brown’s web site for information on upcoming readings.
Hugh Pearman, London-based design critic and author of several fantastic architecture books, was recently in town reviewing another NYC project, and decided to stop by to check out the progress on the High Line.
Pearman compiled his initial thoughts about his visit on his Web site. In the review, he’s forthcoming about the doubts he had before walking the High Line, but admits that the project quickly won him over:
I had worried. It’s only natural. The lure of dereliction, its especial beauty, is its very isolation and tragic transience. By this token, the idea of turning the secret world of Manhattan’s High Line into a linear, permanent public park could surely not succeed. But now I have walked the first, and nearest-complete, section. I am impressed and delighted.
High Line Blog 