Archiscape Blog

New York High Line

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Karin • Filed under: ,

For a very different perspective of Manhattan’s West Side, walk the High Line, a linear park elevated 20 to 30 feet above street level, where freight trains used to run through manufacturing neighborhoods. Currently running from Gansevoort Street in the West Village to 30th Street, it will continue West and North in a loop to the West Side Rail Yards.

From thehighline.org, the park’s extensive, we learn more:

The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan’s streets. Section 1 of the High Line is open as a public park, owned by the City of New York and operated under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Friends of the High Line is the conservancy charged with raising private funds for the park and overseeing its maintenance and operations, pursuant to an agreement with the Parks Department.

When all sections are complete, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. It features an integrated landscape, designed by landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings. Fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features are also included in the park.

Access points from street level will be located every two to three blocks. Many of these access points will include elevators, and all will include stairs.

Click here to see a video and slideshow of the design for the High Line, or to learn more about the park.