History of the High Line
The High Line in Operation, Friends of the High Line
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Meatpacking RailwayThe High Line is a linear park built atop an abandoned railway line in Chelsea, New York. The elevated railway was built to allow freight trains to transport goods, especially meats, to the upper floors of buildings in Manhattan's largest industrial district. The rails ran through the Meatpacking District, home to nearly 250 slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants in the 1900s.
As industry left New York, the need for railroads diminished. In the 1980s, owners of the elevated track, Conrail, sought to abandon the railway. By law, the company was required to put the track up for sale before it could be legally defined as abandoned. In 1984, Peter Obletz, a railway fanatic, bought the entire length of the High Line for ten dollars. He hoped to transform the track into a working railway that would connect passengers to the light-rail service to Albany. In 1987, the sale of the High Line to Obletz was reversed due to scrutiny of property owners below the railway. The future of the High Line was unknown and hotly contested throughout the entire community. |
Development into Public SpaceCommunity meetings were held to determine the future of the dilapidated space. Many people in New York City, including Mayor Giuliani saw the High Line as an eyesore and a hindrance to the property values of the gentrifying neighborhoods. Others like Joshua David and Robert Hammond saw the beauty and potential of the High Line. David and Hammond founded Friends of the High Line in 1999. Their mission was not only to preserve the High Line, but also to create a new public space.
Friends of the High Line worked with city officials and Mayor Bloomberg to save the High Line. Among other obstacles, city policies favoring demolition had to be reversed to initiate the High Line preservation. New York City Council finally endorsed rescue of the High Line in March of 2002. In October of 2002, an economic feasibility study was conducted on the neighborhoods surrounding the railway. The study concluded that the abandonded track would promote growth to the neighborhoods. A similar park in Place de la Bastille, Paris was used as a platform for drawing support for the park. Friends of the High Line gained support because of the economic feasibility study as well as the success of Promenade Pantee. By 2003, the group had enough backing to develop a "ideas competition" for the design of the future park. |
Joel Sternfeld, Friends of the High Line
"New Yorkers always dream of finding open space" -Joshua David |
Site Prep & Painting of Section 1, Friends of the High Line
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Zoning regulations were revised in 2005 in order to create the new park. Funding was a major obstacle for development of the High Line. Construction cost for the first two sections of the High Line was estimated at $153 million. Mayor Bloomberg and New York City officials provided $112.2 million, another $21.4 million was provided by Federal and State funds. Friends of the High Line came up with the final $19.4 million needed and agreed to fund the operating costs of the park.
Construction began in the spring on 2006. James Corner of Field Operations was chosen as the landscape architect along the Diller Scofidio + Renfro architect firm. Architects worked together to create an innovative park that still honored the parks history. The High Line's railroad tracks are still visible in design of the linear park as well as benches incorporated with railcar wheels. Many of the plants that sprouted on the tracks were used in the landscape design. Tall grasses, weeds and wildflowers are a unique feature of the park. The first section of the High Line was opened in the summer of 2009 with the second portion following in the spring of 2011. The last portion of the High Line is still under development; its date of completion is unknown. |