1999 Friends of the High Line is founded by Joshua David and Robert Hammond.
JANUARY – JULY 2003 An open ideas competition, 'Designing the High Line', solicits proposals for the High Line's reuse.
JUNE 2008 Final designs are released for the High Line's transformation to a public park.
JUNE 2009 Section 1 (Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street) opens to the public.
JUNE 2011 Section 2 (West 20th Street to West 30th Street) opens to the public.
Above: Images highlight the changing story of the High Line through the decades
the design and construction process so that we can open as quickly as possible. Building an endowment for long-term maintenance and operations are also top priorities.
Green in the city: the structure weaves its way through Manhattan's landscape
exceeded our expectations. Before the park opened, we estimated around 300,000 people would visit the park in a year. We’ve had about two million people a year and we're on track to have around three million this year.
How does this compare to other attractions in the city? We're one of the most-visited parks per square foot in New York City. On a yearly basis, we're between the MoMA (2.5 million visitors) and the Statue of Liberty (5 million visitors per year).
What future plans do you have for the High Line?
Many people think the High Line is fin- ished, but Section 3 of the rail yards represents one-third of the entire his- toric structure and it's currently closed to the public. We're working to bring all of the stakeholders together to begin
ISSUE 1 2012 © cybertrek 2011
What have been the main challenges you’ve overcome to get to this point? Since the High Line opened, the park has been celebrated worldwide and called a model for adaptive reuse projects in other cities. With all the hype, it's easy to forget that there were challenges in getting the project off the ground. It took time to get all the stakeholders invested in the project and to get the capital funding raised to complete the construction. We've been lucky to have visionaries in the political and private sectors who've helped make the High Line possible.
What's your favourite story that relates to the High Line? The High Line runs between residen- tial buildings, sometimes very close. Before the park was developed, some neighbours were even able to climb out of their windows onto it. Soon after the opening, one neighbour took advantage of the passing crowds to start Renegade Cabaret. On summer evenings, soon after the High Line’s opening in 2009, visitors were treated to live jazz tunes that floated across from the neighbouring fire escape.
How would you sum up the success of the High Line? I still have to pinch myself. It seems too good to be true. l
TALES FROM THE HIGH LINE
High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky was published in October 2011. The book fea- tures more than 200 beautiful
historic and contemporary photographs of the High Line, and a narrative by Joshua David and Robert Hammond. US journalist Robert A. Caro says of the book: “This is a fundamentally uplifting story of two young men with a dream who scythed through red tape and skepticism, summoning a village to help re-imagine what a park could be in the twenty-first century. Thanks to their vision, and to the dedication, enthusi- asm, and brilliance of their collaborators, a walk in the park has been transformed into an exhilarating urban experience that helps all of us to see our extraordi- nary city with new eyes.”
And US author Edmund White com- ments: “There is no more miraculous and important and gratifying piece of new American urban design than the High Line. What’s more, how it was con- jured into existence is a compelling story, and here’s that story…told lucidly and charmingly by the two extraordinary ordi- nary guys who pulled it off.”
Details:
www.thehighline.org Twitter: @highlinenyc
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 35
FLICKR.COM / PHOTOS / KEVINCAPPIS
PHOTO: IWAN BAAN
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