The High Line is a beautiful elevated parkway converted from an abandoned freight line above the west side of Manhattan.
The High Line was once destined for demolition but rallied together to repurpose it instead, creating this beautiful park.
Back in the 1800s Freight trains on tracks, delivered food to lower Manhattan, but created dangerous conditions for pedestrians, it became known as Death Avenue. By 1910, more than 540 people had been killed by trains.
In the 1920s In response to the increasing number of deaths the railroad hired men on horses to protect pedestrians by carrying a red flag or at night a lantern to warn pedestrians of trains These men were known as the ‘West Side Cowboys
Eventually the street level crossings were removed and later an elevated rail line was constructed. The first train was operational by 1934.
The tracks went through the buildings and we saw one of the original station entrances and further on a bricked up part of a building where the trains used to pass through.
With the eventual rise in truck transportation the trains dwindled and by the 80s all train traffic had stopped.
Years of being unused, the area became very overgrown but a thriving garden of wild plants. Inspired by this hidden landscape, Joshua David and Robert Hammond founded Friends of the High Line, to work for its preservation and reuse as a public space.
Each of the High Lines 100,000 plants, trees, and shrubs has its own unique charm, today most of the plant material was ready brown in colour but that is just what the designer wanted to show how the gardens evolve through the four seasons.
Art structures are changed as the season change. Today we walked under a series of ceramic archways embedded with plants from the park and supported by rails.
We stopped next to an apartment building with a fire escape and heard about Patty Heftly, an entertainer who in the 1970s moved to New York & found a loft apartment that looked out onto the High Line.
When the revitalized High Line opened in 2009 her practice of singing and her laundry outside on the fire escape dwindled as crowds of visitors walked by on the elevated park. So to respond to the lack of privacy a friend brought her an amplifier and both of them went out onto the fire escape & performed Jazz, classic ballads, and even a scantily clad burlesque show were performed, much to the amusement of the passers by.
Hudson Yards is New Yorks newest neighborhood with more than 100 diverse shops and restaurants , public art & cultural institutions with gardens & plazas it is quite some place.
The Vessel - an extraordinary centerpiece with its spiral staircase, a landmark meant to be climbed. Comprising of 154 intricately interconnecting flights of stairs - almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings -the vertical climb offers remarkable views of the city, the river and beyond but Ill give that a miss today.
The Shed - A cultural centre with a retractable roof. The moveable roof extends away from the main building on wheels to create a event space in the adjoining plaza.
I think this is my 8th or 9th tour of New York and still a few more planned. The guides Aaron & Patrick have quite a following now with regular trippers including me saying Hi to each other as we join each tour.
