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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan The High Line
AO Edited

The High Line

Elevated freight railway turned wildly successful urban park.

New York, New York

Added By
Henry
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Looking across the Hudson River towards New Jersey, at night   Avoiding Regret
Looking across the Hudson River towards New Jersey, at night   Avoiding Regret
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The High Line, fallen into disrepair   vanshnookenraggen/Flickr
At W. 30th Street   Avoiding Regret
Hudson Yards section by The Shed   Avoiding Regret
  ameliabryant / Atlas Obscura User
  ameliabryant / Atlas Obscura User
  hibbibi / Atlas Obscura User
  hibbibi / Atlas Obscura User
  hibbibi / Atlas Obscura User
  Avoiding Regret
at night   Avoiding Regret
at night   Avoiding Regret
The undeveloped, northern spur (circa 2008)   Avoiding Regret
  Nanks, October 2012
Looking towards the Chelsea Market complex (formerly home of the National Biscuit Company – Nabisco)   Nanks, October 2012
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Stairs and elevator to high line   IronQueen / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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  knoxium / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
The High Line at night   esotericroots / Atlas Obscura User
A view of the High Line & rail yard from the Vessel.   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  alanabeyer / Atlas Obscura User
  alanabeyer / Atlas Obscura User
  alanabeyer / Atlas Obscura User
  alanabeyer / Atlas Obscura User
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You may not realize when you leave Hudson yards where you are!   IronQueen / Atlas Obscura User
Beautiful at night   IronQueen / Atlas Obscura User
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About

For the latter years of the 20th century, abandoned, decrepit and overgrown, this elevated railway on Manhattan's West Side was the domain of pigeons, squirrels, and curious urban explorers.

But when the High Line was threatened with destruction in 1999, the preservation and renovation of this urban relic became a cause célèbre in New York, inspiring a community group, millions of dollars in donations, and finally, its transformation into a public park, completed in 2009.

In the 19th century, when Manhattan's West Side was still a center for industry, freight trains ran on the city streets, all the way from what is now TriBeCa up to what is now Midtown. The practice was so dangerous that even with the addition of "West Side Cowboys," men on horseback who rode in front of the trains to clear the tracks, 10th Avenue became known as "Death Avenue." In 1929, the city decided to build the High Line as part of the larger West Side Improvement Project.

The elevated railway ran from Spring Street to 34th Street, snaking through buildings and across avenues. It cost over two billion in today's dollars to build. Trains began to run in 1934, when the project was completed.

With the construction of the Interstate Highway System and the exile of manufacturing from New York, and, more generally, the United States, the High Line fell into obsolescence. The last train ran on the High Line in 1980, carrying a freight of frozen turkeys.

The renovations of the High Line, begun in 2006, have turned the old railway into a magnificent public park. Benches, bushes, and the occasional section of track line the walkway, which still weaves its way through buildings in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. The park offers tremendous sunset views and now holds the impressive distinction of being New York City's most expensive park per acre. 

The massive success of the High Line has developers and city officials looking for other possible candidates. Among the two most talked about are the Low Line, a trolley terminal under the Essex Street station, abandoned since 1948, and converting the Queens Railway, an abandoned railway in central Queens, currently unused and overgrown. 

Related Tags

Plants Ruins Parks Railroads

Community Contributors

Added By

Henry

Edited By

AF, Craig Baker, dlc31723, Allison...

  • AF
  • Craig Baker
  • dlc31723
  • Allison
  • Avoiding Regret
  • Nanks
  • SEANETTA
  • alanabeyer
  • knoxium
  • esotericroots
  • hibbibi
  • ameliabryant
  • IronQueen

Published

July 4, 2009

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Sources
  • http://www.thehighline.org/
  • http://gothamist.com/2009/08/03/high_lines_high_maintenance_cost_ma.php
  • https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=126087
  • http://www.livinthehighline.com/
The High Line
Washington St & Gansevoort St
New York, New York, 10014
United States
40.739236, -74.008254
Visit Website
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