Friday, June 10, 2011

From urban decay to post-industrial renovation




Eighty years after it was built to carry carcasses to New York's meatpacking district, the old railway line on stilts was converted into a city park, opening to the public in June 2009. The second phase of the conversion has just opened, doubling its length to one mile.

For a railway that came close to being torn down in 1999 when local businesses - backed by Mayor Rudi Giuliani - called it a blot on the landscape, it has become one of the most resounding examples of city rebirth. The neighbourhood has boomed since it opened and the flanks of the park have been dubbed "architects row" in recognition of the new buildings that have sprung up by internationally renowned architects such as Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and Neil Denari.

In 2015 the area will receive another boost when the Whitney opens its new lower Manhattan museum at the southern end of the High Line.
Image: New York's High Line park, past and present