The High Line is called a park but it’s also an art show, history lesson, architectural tour and terrific place to snoop on New York City real estate.
The walkway, built on a historic freight rail line nine metres (30 feet) above the streets of Manhattan’s lower West Side, has become one of the city’s calling cards since it opened in 2009. An estimated four million people a year walk the 1.6-kilometre reclaimed railway track, which was slated for demolition in the late 1990s. It was saved by a community-based non-profit group that lobbied to have it become the aerial greenway it is today.
The track was built in the 1930s, lifting freight (cows, produce and mail) up and removing trains from the streets of Manhattan’s then largest industrial district. No trains have run on the spur since 1980 and it fell into disrepair, even as the area beneath it – the Meatpacking District and Chelsea - gentrified. (The areas figure prominently in the hit TV show Sex and the City, and in Jay McInerney’s bestseller “Bright Lights, Big City.”)
Now, the High Line is one place in Manhattan where people actually stroll - even New Yorkers.
It stretches from West 30th to Gansevoort and Washington Streets, three blocks below West 14th. We start at the northern tip, because we want to finish near Greenwich Village
Before the High Line, the area around the West 30th entrance was rundown with little residential development. Now, it is thick with construction, and highrise developers use proximity to the walkway as a key selling point.
I was expecting to walk on train tracks. Not so. The path is made of wood planks in some areas, and pebbled concrete that look like long planks in others.
This is the newest portion of the walk (it was done in two stages with a third in the works), and the plantings on either side are young. They grow in top soil trucked in from New Jersey, the same as that brought in for Central Park.
Parts of the High Line's planting design may look haphazard, but are actually carefully composed to bring to mind the gone-to-seed landscape that grew on the tracks after the trains stopped. Plantings – 161 of the current 210 are native species – include meadow plants, grasses, coneflowers, sumac, dogwoods, holly trees, bottlebrush buckeye and smokebush.
While there is a thicket of birch trees further along the walk and more mature vegetation, this is an urban park. The buildings – some so close you can almost touch them – are as much a part of the experience as the greenery and the Hudson River you can see beyond.
Beside a 100-year-old brick building with its ghost lettering of a sewing machine plant is a gleaming glass and steel condo, with few curtains. Some apartments are on eye-level with passersby and a man and his young son wave as we meander by. Some residents are even said to hang their art just so, to make it easier to be admired by walkers.
All along the walk is a mix of modern and historic architecture. Many of the old brick buildings are now lofts and condos.
Landmark Manhattan buildings in the distance include the Statue of Liberty at West 14th. The Frank Gehry-designed IAC building bobs in the near distance at West 18th. The Canadian-born architect wanted the building to look like white sails in the wind, and it sort of does, with a bit of iceberg thrown in. Between 25th and 27th streets, look northeast for views of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings.
Though not far from the bustle of the streets below, the High Line feels removed. You’re in nature but still rooted in very urban life. Architects incorporated that vibe into the design.
At West 10th, a mini-ampitheatre lets you watch the traffic below, oddly calming when you’re high above it. It’s a bit like watching the Shaw log burn on TV during the holidays.
All along the walk are benches and rolling loungers, some made of reused track, and bleachers made of reclaimed teak from old industrial sites, inviting people to stop and stay. And they do.
Tourists abound, but there are easily as many locals. Google employees (its New York office overlooks the High Line) eating lunch, construction workers stretching their legs before heading back to the many building sites, school kids on a scavenger hunt learning about the different types of vegetation, people reading or just watching the world go by.
The numerous forms of public art along the walkway draw people. They range from sculpture to billboards to many forms of modern art. A recent installation called Digital Empathy had uplifting audio messages (“You are fascinating and interesting”; “You are a winner”; “You make things happen”) whisper from 11 sites along the High Line.
At one point, we’re surprised to see a vending machine selling soft drinks. Doesn’t seem to fit with the non-commercial feel of the walkway, we say.
It’s actually artist Josh Kline’s Skittles , an industrial refrigerator containing smoothies with “unconventional and poetic” combos of ingredients. Each smoothie is a portrait of a different contemporary lifestyle. (Williamsburg is: credit card, American Apparel, kale chips, kombucha, microbrew, quinoa and agave.)
The art installations change several times throughout the year.
A big draw is the green grass at 23rd street. The rolling lawn – about the size of a lot in Fairfield - invites passersby to sit down and offers a fine view of the Hudson River. It’s very popular in a city with limited green space.
The High Line ends in the Meatpacking District at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington Streets. The spot is the future home of a new Whitney Museum of American Art facility, scheduled to open in 2015. It will feature more than 50,000 square feet of gallery space, including outdoor exhibition spaces overlooking the High Line.
Strolling the High Line can be a brisk 15-minute walk or a several hour excursion.
It’s a fine example of how industrial areas can be repurposed and become an integral part of a city. But as much, it’s a place to feel part of a big, sometimes impersonal, city.
Information
- the High Line website is filled with helpful information, from upcoming events (movies, exhibitions, dances, plant walks, stargazing, free guided tours) to what flowers are blooming when. http://www.thehighline.org/about/park-information
- there are nine entrances via stairs. The park is wheelchair accessible as five of these have elevators (Gansevoort, West 14th, West 16th, West 23rd and West 30th entrances.)
- there is only one public washroom, at 16th Street.
- summer hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Hours vary by season.
- no dogs are allowed
- no games involving tossing things are allowed. (People could get hurt by an errant ball or Frisbee)
- security officers walk the High Line. They do sweeps when the park closes and local all access points
Tips
- Walk at sunset, when the colors reflect off the Hudson River and the modern glass buildings. It’s also a great time to peek into the apartments along the High Line. See a one-bedroom apartment that costs as much as the average Oak Bay house.
- the least busy times are early mornings and evenings on weekdays
- check the High Line website for special events that are on most days. Ranges from art classes to tap dancing
- the High Line is above Chelsea, one of the best gallery areas. Pop down and cruise through a few (mostly concentrated between West 22nd to West 28th.) They’re free, and some Thursdays, have wine and cheese receptions.
Food
- there are numerous approved food trucks at various entrances to the High Line and restaurants and cafes on the streets beneath.
- Chelsea Market at West 16th is a great spot to pop down and pick up a bite. Nabisco sandwiched the Oreo here. It turned into an urban food court and shopping mall in 1997 and has a good array of take-out as well as sit down food
- The Standard High Line restaurant is a place to sort of see and be seen, with a large sunny patio. It’s at the Greenwich Village end of the walk, beneath the Standard Hotel. (The glass-fronted Standard Hotel is the last building allowed to be constructed straddling the High Line. Guests are asked at check-in to remember that when the curtains are open, whatever you’re doing is there for all the passersby to see.)
- across the street on West 12th is Hector’s, a true old-fashioned café. This is no faux diner. It isn’t even open Sundays to cater to tourists (the meatpacking district wasn’t traditionally busy on Sundays). It’s a fave of celebrity chef Mario Batali’s and is often the scene for down-at-the-heels locations in Law & Order. A meaty turkey clubhouse is $9.95 with fries.
