New York has several prominent landmarks like The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Rockefeller Center and the Brooklyn Bridge. But over the last decade a new landmark has slowly caught the attention of design pundits and tourists: the High Line.
The High Line is a 1-mile New York City raised linear park built on a section of elevated railroad. Internationally renowned designers Piet Oudolph and the design firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro are responsible for its creation. Interesting to note is that this landmark also came to fruition only due to the determined efforts of local citizens.
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
The High Line was built by the New York Central Railroad between 1929 and 1934 to lift dangerous freight trains from Manhattan’s streets. Originally extending down to St. John’s Park Terminal at Clarkson Street, the High Line was part of a much larger rail infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. The High Line’s trains carried meat, produce and dairy products into warehouses and factories at the third floor level.
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PHOTOGRAPHS: SHREYA MALU & SHYAM KHANDEKAR | |
For many years, the High Line was a vital part of the busy manufacturing landscape of this part of New York. However, as trucking began to replace rail as the primary means of moving freight, train traffic on the High Line declined. By 1980, the trains had stopped running. Owned by the City of New York, the entire structure was under the threat of demolition.
In 1990, with the High Line threatened with demolition, neighbourhood residents Joshua David and Robert Hammond formed Friends of the High Line to advocate the preservation and reuse of the structure. Finally, in 2002 the City of New York committed to transform the High Line into a one-of-a-kind park. Innovative design was central to the vision. The goal was to create a public landscape as unusual and nexpected as the High Line itself. The recycling of this stretch of the railway line into a park has encouraged more real estate development in the surrounding neighbourhood as well.
Tens of thousands of people have been part of the High Line’s transformation. To quote the official information board on the High Line: “This park embodies their dedication to New York City and their desire to make something wonderful for future generations.”
The High Line is owned by the City of New York and maintained and operated by Friends of the High Line, which was founded in 1999 by community residents. It now works with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to make sure the High Line is maintained as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy. In addition to overseeing maintenance, operations and public programming for the park, Friends of the High Line works to raise the essential private funds to support more than 90 percent of the park’s operating budget, which will lend to its future sustainability.
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