The High Line, New York

I visited the newly opened High Line Park in New York today.  I had heard a lot about this park and was eager to visit, and it was worth every minute there.

The park runs 1.45 miles (2.33 km) along a disused section of an elevated freight line on the Lower West Side of Manhattan.  This railway line was opened in the  1930s and was elevated as the previous railway was known for accidents as it conflicted with other traffic.  By the 1950s interstate trucking became the main mode of freight traffic and parts of this line were demolished by 1960.  The very last train to operate was in 1980.  

Although there were attempts to demolish the whole line, by the 1990s it was still intact and many wild grasses, shrubs and trees were growing there.  A group of nearby residents formed a non-profit group, the Friends of High Line, and they advocated for it's preservation and transformation into a public open space.  Community support grew and finally in 2004 the New York City Government committed $50 million for the establishment of the park.  A further $150 million was raised in other funding.  The first section opened in 2009 and 2 more sections opened in 2011 and 2014.  The last section will open later in 2015. 

The park has spurred new Real Estate development and gentrification of the area.  There are various beautiful views along the length of the park and a number of pieces of public art.   

The extra photo is another view, this one at the southern end of the line, with the Witney Museum of American Art in the background.  

For more pictures, including a few from SoHo and the 9/11 Memorial Park, see my Flickr album.