The High Line (under construction) and Tenth Avenue
IAC building by Frank Gehry at left
© Brian Rose (digital)

It amazes me how many people, even in New York, are unaware of the High Line, the former rail viaduct cutting through the west side of Manhattan from the West Village just below 14th Street up to 34th Street. After nearly three decades of disuse, the structure is being converted to an elevated park/promenade–one of the most brilliant additions to the urban landscape of New York ever.

As a permanent piece of interactive architecture, it will change the way people see the city, and preserve a significant stretch of New York’s industrial infrastructure. Before the High Line was built in the early ’30s, Tenth Avenue was known as Death Avenue due to the fatalities caused by trains operating on surface rails in the center of the street. The High Line put the trains above the traffic and it operated until the decline of shipping and manufacturing along the west side of Manattan in the ’60s and ’70s led to its abandonment in 1980. Read more about it here.

The High Line as it snakes between buildings at 18th Street.
© Brian Rose (digital)

The High Line will combine a paved promenade with planting running alongside and emerging from the walkway, evoking the way in which nature flourished on the derelict structure. The design is the work of Field Operations (landscape architects) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro (architects).

A short stretch of the tracks that once ran the length of the High Line.
© Brian Rose (digital)

The High Line by Joel Sternfeld

There are many people who are responsible for the saving and re-creation of the High Line, but from a photographer’s standpoint, of significant importance was the series of photos done by Joel Sternfeld. These beautiful large format images captured the imagination of many, and helped generate support for the project.