The elevated railway had opened to trains in 1934, but by the late 1970s the line was underused with the last train running in 1980 – pulling a cargo of frozen turkeys! During the 80’s various business owners lobbied for the tracks to be demolished. Abandoned for years but thankfully not demolished, the tracks became home to tough grasses, and trees, by 2004 the city of New York recognised the potential in the High Line and $50million was earmarked for its redevelopment into a public space.
The first section of the park opened in 2009, with a further section opening two years later.
An old section of track
We loved this seating area
A great view of the busy streets below
The colours work well with the rust iron edging
Gardener at work
Gilbert an George street art
The explosion of blooms almost look like fireworks
Its great to see this park so well used with a mix of locals, joggers and tourists, we can see this working well in other urban areas. Well worth a detour to visit.
