Afternoon at High Line | Health and Fitness

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Written by Joe

Sunday, 12 July 2009 11:30

Central Park may get most of the attention, but this city has a ton of great parks to take advantage of. And you can't beat the price! Recently, I decided to spend some time in the much hyped, newly opened, High Line park on the West Side of Manhattan.

In the 1930's an elevated train platform was put into use on the West Side to keep dangerous freight trains from travelling around the city at street level. The High Line train line was used all the way until 1980 when it was finally decommissioned. There was much debate on what to do with the structure, with many wishing to tear it down. A group of train enthusiasts worked to preserve the structure and finally saw the payoff this summer with the opening of the first piece of the new High Line park.

highline_plants

The park currently runs from West 20th down to Gansevoort St. I took the stairway at West 20th up to the elevated platform, probably about 20 feet above street level. To the North you can see the future of the project, another 14 blocks still being worked on and closed to the public. To the South the path begins, winding around, and even through buildings of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District. As I walk to the south my eye jumps around to all there is to take in. The path is surrounded by plant life, making it feel more like a nature trail then a stroll through a city. The plants chosen are the plants that grew naturally on the High Line when it was no longer in use. Adding the natural setting, to the right I have the Hudson River with a slight breeze blowing off of it. To the left, I'm brought back to city life, taking in the architecture of the neighborhood.

Along the path there are plenty of benches and tables to sit and take in the view. One large seating area seemed to be the favorite spot for lunch and sunbathing. Next time I visit the park I plan on hitting Chelsea Market first, grab a lunch and sitting here to enjoy.

highline_seating

If you are a regular reader of this site you will know we have started to feature public art from around the city. The High Line is going to work to feature a number of different public pieces. Currently on display is a work by Spencer Finch entitled The River That Flows Both Ways.

highline_art

The piece is made up of 700 individual panes of glass, colored to represent different water conditions on the Hudson River over a single day. The work is installed in one of the few indoor areas of the path, but with the light coming through the blue panes of glass it is almost as if the river has followed us in.

I continued my walk South and came across the newly opened Standard Hotel. The hotel, which was designed to compliment the High Line, straddles the walkway. While guest must get quite the views from their room, there has already been much publicity about guests providing a view for the park goers below.

highline_hotel

I continued my walk to the end of the path at Gansevoort St., where I took the stairs back down to street level. Nice days have been hard to come by this summer, and with this being one of them, the park was pretty crowded. Even with the big crowds, there was plenty of room to walk. I can only imagine as the buzz around the park subsides, walking around the area will become even more enjoyable. To me, the High Line is a great re-use of a structure that was already in place. It also keeps alive a piece of New York City history that I imagine more people know little about. I'm looking forward to next summer when the remaining 14 blocks of the park are open.

highline_people