Unequal bus and subway services across New York City's five Boroughs
New York City's High Line
2
26 | August 2015 | élan magazine liked–the profusion of weeds growing over and around the old tracks. As they contemplated this urban wilder- ness, they envisioned recycling it into an aerial public park for the city. In 1999 they formed the Friends of the High Line whose focus became preserving the rail line’s legacy as a green space. James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Ren- fro and Dutch planting designer Piet Oudolf were the creative trio that crystallized the High Line dream. Be- ginning in the Meatpacking District, the first park seg- ment opened to wild applause in 2009 and the second segment to celebratory cheers in 2011. When the third segment opened last year, critics emptied the dictionary of its remaining superlatives. The High Line now floats above the streets with car- go of a different kind: enthralled people of all ages. Over six million people visited in 2014, says Christian Barclay, the park’s communications assistant. Sauntering about on the High Line, some visitors are keenly aware of a sense of freedom. Others find the T he repurposed and reclaimed High Line–New York’s innovative linear park–sails 30 feet high over the streets of Manhattan’s West Side. Since the splashy opening of the new Whitney Muse- um of Art in May, the park’s buzz has ratcheted up even more. The museum is in the same block of Gansevoort Street where the High Line begins. Built in 1934 as a railway, the High Line’s 1.45-mile- long elevated steel structure transported warehouse products from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues. With trains conveying meat, produce and dairy products three floors above traf- fic, the streets became safe again. A dependable workhorse, the railway carried its last load (frozen turkeys) in 1980. Abandoned, its infrastruc- ture was allowed to deteriorate for almost 20 years. Many, including then-mayor Rudy Giuliani, wanted to raze the rusting, weed-infested eyesore. Neighborhood residents Joshua David and Robert Hammond saw it with different eyes. They noticed–and NEW HEIGHTS IN DESIGN AND RECLAMATION BY MARY ELOISE H. LEAKE FURTHER AFIELD New York City s High Line ’
-
Upload
mary-eloise-h-leake -
Category
Documents
-
view
8 -
download
0
description
The repurposed and reclaimed High Line - New York's innovative linear park - sails 30 feet high over the streets of Manhattan's West Side.
Transcript of New York City's High Line
26 | August 2015 | élan magazine
liked–the profusion of weeds growing over and around the old tracks. As they contemplated this urban wilder-ness, they envisioned recycling it into an aerial public park for the city. In 1999 they formed the Friends of the High Line whose focus became preserving the rail line’s legacy as a green space.
James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Ren-fro and Dutch planting designer Piet Oudolf were the creative trio that crystallized the High Line dream. Be-ginning in the Meatpacking District, the first park seg-ment opened to wild applause in 2009 and the second segment to celebratory cheers in 2011. When the third segment opened last year, critics emptied the dictionary of its remaining superlatives.
The High Line now floats above the streets with car-go of a different kind: enthralled people of all ages. Over six million people visited in 2014, says Christian Barclay, the park’s communications assistant.
Sauntering about on the High Line, some visitors are keenly aware of a sense of freedom. Others find the
The repurposed and reclaimed High Line–New York’s innovative linear park–sails 30 feet high over the streets of Manhattan’s West Side.
Since the splashy opening of the new Whitney Muse-um of Art in May, the park’s buzz has ratcheted up even more. The museum is in the same block of Gansevoort Street where the High Line begins.
Built in 1934 as a railway, the High Line’s 1.45-mile-long elevated steel structure transported warehouse products from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues. With trains conveying meat, produce and dairy products three floors above traf-fic, the streets became safe again.
A dependable workhorse, the railway carried its last load (frozen turkeys) in 1980. Abandoned, its infrastruc-ture was allowed to deteriorate for almost 20 years. Many, including then-mayor Rudy Giuliani, wanted to raze the rusting, weed-infested eyesore.
Neighborhood residents Joshua David and Robert Hammond saw it with different eyes. They noticed–and
NEW HEIGHTS IN DESIGN AND RECLAMATIONBY MARY ELOISE H. LEAkE
FuRTHER AFIELD
New York City s High Line’
Clockwise from top left: Bright pops of
color line the 1.45-mile-long High Line; the
High Line affords unique views of the Hud-
son River; a young visitor tests a High Line
water feature on a hot day; and glimpses
of the original railroad tracks can be seen
among the plantings.
Opposite page, top: Marianne Vitale’s
sculpture “Common Crossings,” formed
from steel railroad track segments, echoes
the defunct tracks’ rise in status to rock
star level; and the High Line offers a
serene green space on Manhattan’s
West Side.Photography by Mary Eloise H. Leake
élan magazine | August 2015 | 27
experience calming and uplifting, a perfect antidote if they have just toured the sobering 9/11 Museum and Memorial. Many just soak in New York’s vibes and be-come totally energized.
Adding height throughout the park are familiar friends: maples, birches, redbuds, dogwoods, magnolias, pines and oaks, all native to the area. As you stroll around on its smooth concrete planks, you might encounter a tunnel formed from gracefully bending trees, providing a cool archway on a hot summer day. Viewing the city-scape above and below is quite a perk.
Waving in gentle breezes, various grasses echo those that once grew on the defunct tracks, providing that visual “aha!” moment for the High Line’s cofounders. Planting designer Oudolf carefully preserves this effect. The High Line’s tracks often peep out from under ar-tistic plantings grown in ingenious ways. Oudolf some-times even allows weeds to grow at will.
Adding a palette of bright pops of color to the lush landscape, multi-hued blooms of ornamental alliums, coneflowers and foxtail lilies combine with those of purple prairie clovers, orange butterfly milkweeds and golden sunflowers. They soften park areas flanked by vintage brick-and-mortar warehouses, shiny steel-and-
glass towers, works-in-progress restorations and gaping raw construction sites.
Along with their visual effect, plants are carefully chosen based on the park’s varied exposures to sun, shade and wind. Neat “peel-up” benches add places to contemplate, read or nap. A larger area of Seating Steps is great for watching live presentations. The newer Rail Yards segment offers picnic spots and the most options for playful kids.
Sculpture, video and performance art and education-al programs provide cultural diversions. Current sculp-tural installations include American Rashid Johnson’s “Blocks,” Argentinian Adrian Villar Rojas’s “The Evolu-tion of God” and Belgian kris Martin’s “Altar.”
Wherever you enter the High Line, you will be re-warded with scenic vistas such as the sparkling Hud-son River. On the park’s southern end are the Standard Hotel–straddling it like a bow-legged cowboy–and the new Whitney Museum. Its façade includes four terraces where people look at you as you look at them–which, when you think about it, makes this new combo the best performance art in the city!
The High Line | www.thehighline.org
