High Line Trail New York City

#HighLine_Trail_NewYork

The high-line was born out of a necessity as the street level train transportation in New York City had over 500 fatalities, thus the tracks were elevated as a solution to the dangerous street crossings
Finally with the emergence of trucking the rail was abandoned in the 1980s

 

Yes its True 😅
Trying to mitigate the danger crossings at this time the West Side Cowboys (who were hired and recruited from Western cattle ranches....hence the name) worked the streets known as "Death Avenue" 
 
The role was to be a safety officer by waving red flags during the day and lanterns at night to signal oncoming trains
In those times we must remember that the trains shared the roads with carriages, trolleys and pedestrians 

The Promenade Plantee in Paris opened in 1993 and was the worlds first elevated urban park that was built on the abandoned Vincennes railway line
 This was the idea plus inspiration for the High Line (as New York officials have acknowledged) when they modelled their version that was available to the public in 2009 

 

Moving forward it has become a thriving ecosystem with over 500 species of plants and trees
Also it gives great views of the city, the Hudson River plus hosts community events, music performances and shows public art
It now has inspired other cities in America to transform their neglected infrastructure into public spaces

On why to Hectors Diner (under the High Line) 
It was featured in the film Taxi Driver plus several episodes of Law & Order

On the trail it features a variety of art installations

A) The Plinth; a space dedicated to a rotating series of new, monumental and contemporary art commissions that remain on display for 18 months
B) Murals; various works with some depicting connections between nature and humanity
C) Videos by various artists plus a large glass installation  inspired by the Hudson River and so on

Fun Fact
They removed over 100 tons of steel railroad tracks from the High Line but some got reused again as design features in the park

Chelsea Market Skybridge
Yes it is a 1930s art-deco structure but did you know one of the two buildings is a former Nabisco factory site where the Oreo Cookie was invented

The market takes up a full city block in the Chelsea neighborhood and is famous for a wide variety of vendors selling gourmet foods, artisanal goods  plus prepared meals and all housed in this historic factory building
 It went under much preservations to keep its original industrial character which certainly adds to the vibe of the area
A great stop along the High Line Trail

Whitney Museum

Some Early History
Gertrude was born a Vanderbilt so into extravagant wealth but used her married name Whitney as a pseudonym for her exhibitions of her sculptures to get an unbiased review of her work
She was a significant supporter of modern American artists who struggled to gain recognition from traditional institutions as she "Lived" their world of frustration

Then she approached the Metropolitan Museum with her collection of 700 pieces of art for donation and was rejected
So established her own museum which ironically is near the tracks in which the Vanderbilt family made a majority of their fortune through the nations railroads

So this is why when it opened in 1930 it was the first museum dedicated to living American artists   

Another piece a Street Art as i finish up my walking tour

The High Line success has now inspired similar "Rails to Trails" projects in cities all over the world