Ben Busko on Living on NYC's High Line

by Jenna Lyons May 16, 2018

Living on The High Line is always changing, just like the City it lives in. Here is a bit of history I found interesting about the history of The High Line, spanning from the Meatpacking District to West Chelsea (now Hudson Yards) in New York City.

The last train runs on the High Line in 1980. Nineteen years later, "Friends of the High Line" is founded by residents of the High Line neighborhood, to advocate for the High Line's preservation and reuse as public open space.

In 2005 Mayor Bloomberg and the City accepts ownership of The High Line which is donated by CSX Transportation, Inc. in November 2005; Groundbreaking is celebrated in April 2006.

In 2009, the first section, Section 1 (Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street) opens to the public surprising and delighting visitors from across the globe.

How it was planted: The High Line's planting design is inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the out-of-use elevated rail tracks during the 25 years after trains stopped running. The species of perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees were chosen for their hardiness, sustainability, and textural and color variation, with a focus on native species. Many of the species that originally grew on the High Line's rail bed are incorporated into the park's landscape.

Converting each section of the High Line from an out-of-use railroad trestle to a public landscape entailed not only years of planning, community input, and work by some of the city's most inventive designers, but also more than two years of construction per section.