High Line Park

The High Line. An abandoned elevated railway converted to an elevated garden. It is a great example of recycling. When the High Line was first opened in June 2009, I wanted to visit it but the plan simply did not work out. The first time, as I walked west along 14th Street toward the park, I got a call from home about some fuse blow-out. I had to rush home to flip the switch back. The second time I had this idea that if the High Line intersects 14th Street then if I go west along 11th Street I would bump into the structure eventually. Not so. I hit the West Side Highway instead and walking east along some street north of 11th Street, a Bank Street, I believe, which eventually connected to 12th Street, did not do the job either. The sun already went down by the time I made the trip back so even though I was mere blocks from the High Line I could not see it. Unlike the rectangular grids of Midtown Manhattan, the streets of the Greenwich Villages do not necessarily run parallel to each other. Instead, they just turn and twist to fit into the triangular shape of the tip of Manhattan Island. For example, instead of running east-west, 4th Street at one point run north and intersect West 12th Street and others.

Finally, on a windy and cold day, -5 °C to be exact, I made it. Certainly not a day to be high up above the street. Thanks to the cold weather though, there were few people on the High Line. There was a wedding party, not surprisingly. Supposedly a few publicized proposal happened on the Line, so why not get photographed there too in wedding gown and all. I love the large benches but it was too cold to lay down on them. I especially love the supposedly movable benches. They have wheels that run on the remaining exposed tracks. For safety, they were immovable. I can easily envision a couple of friends clowning around these benches and eventually one get his fingers crushed between two benches.

The Line only goes up to 20th Street. There is much more to do, but funding is always in question, especially in a down economy like now. Do go check out the High Line and if you like it please donate money to the cause. It is easiest to go along 14th Street toward the West Side Highway. You can even stop by the Apple Store at 9th Avenue to check your email or update your status in your social network, free of charge.

The "poster" above was made with Posterino. Click on it to see the bigger version. I just threw the photos together randomly. Enjoy!