apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Right on. Here in the Pacific NW, discontinued rail lines have been turned into linear parks used for hiking & biking. Partly paved, partly gravel, always a good ride or walk.

When I lived in the DC suburbs, I used to like to make trips to the C&O Canal Towpath although that's more of a mule path than a former rail line. My favorite part was the stretch near Harper's Ferry.

Still, very cool. Post more pictures of the High Line for the rest of us.

^ Right. Those rail-trails are made possible by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

It's really wonderful to see these abandoned rail lines turned into green spaces for everyone to enjoy!!

I'm not sure if this is because of the public and critical adoration of "star-chitects" such as diller scofidio and renfro, but publicity for this amazing project has been unfairly skewed to represent diller,scofidio, and renfro as the sole designer of this project- and this is not the case!

FIELD OPERATIONS, a progressive landscape and urban design firm is the lead designer on this project. They are collaborating with DSR, whose role I do not intend to diminish, but Field OPerations has been playing a huge role in re-shaping the city ( they are working on an even larger scale urban/landscape project in the city, transforming Fresh Kills landfill in multiple phases)- and it's about time we do a minimum amount of due diligence to apportion credit properly!

sorry AT, you are not the only one doing this, but you've dissapointed me!

I've been curious about the HL for a long time and would love to sneak up there at some point to check it out. Has anyone else done this?

what confuses me is that if you follow the link that you provide: http://www.thehighline.org/design/preliminarydesign.html:

The designers are stated as:

"The design team of Field Operations and Diller Scofidio Renfro is currently at work on preliminary designs for the High Line. "

Is it true that they basically have to take the thing apart and build it back again because it is too unstable?

If so, is this really 'conservation' or 'reuse'?

"I've been curious about the HL for a long time and would love to sneak up there at some point to check it out. Has anyone else done this?"



I've been curious too, but afraid to go up there. I'm guessing that, in it's current state, it's home to rodents and junkies.

Persephone and GothamTomato,

I snuck up there with a friend many years ago to snap a few photos. I remember it being wild and lovely up there. Thankfully, I didn't see any rodents (and believe me, I was on the lookout) or anyone else.

About a year and a half ago I looked into it again because another friend wanted to shoot his album cover up there. Alas, my old sneak in spot was sealed up tight as a drum. Bummer.

Although I commend the reuse of this abandoned space, it is frustrating that a project in a wealthy white neighborhood that has already been the beneficiary of a massive public parks project, i.e. the Hudson River Park, has received so much support and attention, while projects in underserved minority neighborhoods cannot even get budgets to operate parks that currently exist, i.e. Barretto Point Park and Hunts Point Park in the South Bronx. For this reason I question whether the fanfare surrounding the High Line is really just to create another brand neighborhood/luxury market for developers, and I challenge celebrities, philanthropists, developers/architects and publicly minded civilians to broaden their support to projects that provide open space and green environments for everyone, not just those who can afford to pay a premium.

right on, hil.

While the revitalization of the old highline is an inovative reuse of the space, I fear it will end up being overshadowed by all the new luxury high-rise buildings going up along side it.

I took a tour of the HL during last year OpenHouseNY - well, only a portion of it that was open to the public. At the time we were told that the city has finally approved the design, but bid is not out, so there was no estimate, and no start-of-construction date set.
Hil and Saya: I understand the developers of the new condo buildings that are part of the master plan for HL are partially paying for the project, in addition to the funds from the city, especially for the parts of the promenade next to the private access to it from their buildings. When developers from the Bronx are going to do just that, I'm sure the parks maintenance and landscaping will improve tremendously.

the high line project is very exciting, i was browsing some shops in the meatpacking and noticed that the section at 14th street near milk studio and the carwash is being stripped and painted black. my only concern is that with the luxury construction surrounding it access to all new yorkers will be limited.

I agree wholeheartedly with Hil.

In addition, I would have liked that corridor preserved for light-rail -- desperately needed on the far west side. After the elevated portion ends, it goes into an open cut and continues at least until the W. 40s.

I also wonder if an endowment is being set up to finance not only all future maintenance and landscaping, but the constant structural reinforcement that will be needed. It is, after all, a pile of rusting steel. I suspect the City will wind up having to pay for structural maintenance.

lulu78, you're right - Field Operations is integral to this project and many others, including the amazing Fresh Kills park. I changed the post to reflect their role at the High Line. Thank you.