Exploring the High Line

The Shadows © 2011 Bo Mackison

Sherpa and I paused on one of the stairway entrances to High Line Park in the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City. The High Line  is on Manhattan’s West Side. The first section, a mile long, opened as a public park in June 2009. The second section, which added another stretch a half-mile long, opened in June 2011 and runs between West 20th and West 30th Streets.

Walking the High Line © 2011 Bo Mackison

The original High Line was built in the 1930s as part of a massive transportation project. It removed dangerous trains from one of Manhattan’s largest industrial districts by raising the tracks thirty feet in the air. The High Line was abandoned in 1980.

Friends of the High Line, a neighborhood group, and  the City of New York work in a partnership to preserve and support this hugely popular public park. (Last year 2.2 million people used the park.)

Seating on the High Line © 2011 Bo Mackison

The park features an artfully designed landscape which combines a meandering concrete pathway with natural plantings – trees, wildflowers, grasses. A variety of seating, both movable chairs and built-in benches, is scattered along the walks, specially designed lighting illuminates the walking paths, and water features provide opportunities for splashing and cooling off in warmer weather.

The High Line also features both permanent and temporary art installations. Photographs will be in the next High Line post.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  One of her favorite autumn destinations in New York City is the High Line Park in Chelsea. Urban renewal at its best.