On Boxing day, IT and I went to the High Line.  It was a good day to visit the park as the wintry weather was less prohibitive than Christmas eve, and even the sun came out.  These B&W historic pictures are borrowed from the official web site of the High Line.

The High Line is a public park built on abandoned, elevated freight railway tracks that ran along the lower west side of Manhattan. Built in the 1930’s, the railways had been in active use until the 80’s.  Only section 1 (out of 3) of the park extending from the meatpacking district up to Chelsea (20th street) is completely developed.  The park has been hailed as one of the urban landscape architectural triumphs in New York, despite early fears that property developers would turn it into a shopping mall.  It was opened to the public in summer 2009 and is beloved by locals and visitors alike.  The park’s entry on Wikipedia is here.

In late afternoon, holding back the urge to continue our bargain hunting in Soho, we took a cab up to Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district where the park begins. There were quite a lot of visitors on the High Line on that day.  In the summer when it first opened, I read in the news that the crowd got so large that only small groups are allowed to enter the park.  Only in NYC where entrance to a public park is controlled like clubs in the same area with bouncer and velvet rope.  We wandered up to the park and headed northwards taking many pictures.  The space and views were fantastic – it’s another reason why I ♥ NY.  I will post some of the photos here in a series of five posts.  First up are pictures of the views from the High Line, and a street map of the area.  -C

Gansevoort Street / Washington Street Entrance

Standard Hotel

Looking eastward down W14th Street

Bridge over 10th Avenue, Chelsea Market buildings

Tenth Avenue and W18th Street

Northern Spur, Chelsea Market building

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