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December 9, 2009

The Highline rules

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The New Yorker posted an article called the Ten Most Positive Architectural Events of 2009.  Needless to say, the Highline was the first thing on the list. 

When I first had the opportunity to walk the Highline, it was just weeds and graffiti.  But I got more and more excited every step I took.  It was so obvious that turning these old train tracks into a park would be a huge change for downtown NYC.  Architecturally it would change the landscape.  Certainly looking at NYC from that vantage point is incredible and anyone who has experienced it will certainly agree. 

Here is the paragraph on the Highline from Paul Goldberger from the New Yorker.

Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line, the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh, inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than it was before.

On another note, I couldn't so easily cut and paste this from the New Yorker.  They still own their content!  Interesting. 

  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
  • Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line,
    the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight
    line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner
    Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh,
    inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this
    brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than
    it was before.
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    Comments (Archived):

    1. AlanPearlstein

      I couldn’t agree more. i have been reading about the Highline project for years and I think it is a great addition to the city.

      1. Gotham Gal

        Absolutely fantastic.

    2. WA

      Love it. We walk it with my folks, who are well into their 70’s and 80’s, when in New York. It puts a noticeable spring in their step and we listen to incredible stories of yesteryear…the bake shops, the meat shops, trains rolling in and out of buildings…shipping out to war. Congrats to those whose efforts have re-gentrified more than an old set of tracks…

      1. Gotham Gal

        That is a great story. Hope you are keeping those stories somewhere for thenext generation.

        1. WA

          Oh yes J. My dad dictated to mom, a small autobiography for all the “kids” last December on his 85th birthday while staying with us in Florida. It was a broad overview of his life, the highlights, challenges and both the wins and disappointments. A great story for our kids, who loved it. My mom, a retired educator and presently on the school board of her district just out side of NYC, has kept encyclopedia’s of pictures, handed down from my grand parents as well as her own collection, throughout her life. They are each labeled, dated and marked with a poignant sentence or two. Her thoughts of posterity and this lifelong effort have fostered her own sense of immortality I believe. Of course getting them online for the family is a thought…

          1. Gotham Gal

            That is fantastic. I hope more and more people do this. I can’t rememberwhat I did yesterday so having a history of the family life is wonderful.