High Line
On the west side of Manhattan in New York City, the High Line is a 1.45-mile (2.33-kilometer) elevated linear park, greenway, and rail-trail built on a former New York Central Railroad branch. The High Line was designed in collaboration with James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf. The abandoned spur has been restored as a “living system” that incorporates landscape architecture, urban planning, and ecology, among other disciplines. The High Line was inspired by Paris’s 4.7-kilometer-long Promenade plantée (tree-lined promenade), which debuted in 1993. Browse around this site
The park is constructed atop a piece of the New York Central Railroad’s West Side Line’s unused southern viaduct. The park spans from Gansevoort Street – three blocks below 14th Street – via Chelsea to the northern tip of the West Side Yard on 34th Street near the Javits Center, starting in the Meatpacking District. The West Side Line used to go south to a train terminus on Spring Street, just north of Canal Street, and north to the Javits Center on 35th Street. The bridge was essentially abandoned in 1980 when the Javits Center prompted the destruction of the viaduct’s northernmost segment due to a drop in train traffic and the remainder of the structure. During the late twentieth century, the viaduct’s southern section was dismantled in areas. The transformation of the railway into an urban park started in 2006, with stages opening in 2009, 2011, and 2014. On June 4, 2019, the Spur, a continuation of the High Line initially linked with the Morgan General Mail Facility at Tenth Avenue and 30th Street, became the park’s last component to open.
Since its debut in June 2009, the High Line has become a symbol of modern landscape architecture in the United States. The popularity of the High Line has prompted communities throughout the United States to repurpose outmoded infrastructure into public space. The park grew in popularity as a tourist destination, spurring development in nearby areas and raising real estate values and prices along the path. The park had over five million visitors per year by September 2014, and by 2019, it had eight million visitors per year.
Acknowledge it or not, the High Line was initially slated for destruction. Fortunately, the community banded together to reuse it, resulting in the park you see today, which is open to everybody. It has become a model for towns throughout the world to transform underutilized industrial zones into vibrant public areas.
The High Line is a public park and a nonprofit organization on Manhattan’s West Side. We’re dedicated to redefining the role of public spaces in promoting connected, healthy neighborhoods and cities via our work with communities on and off the High Line.
The High Route was always meant to be more than a park since it was built atop a historic elevated rail line. You may stroll through gardens, see art, attend a concert, eat excellent cuisine, and socialize with friends and neighbors while taking in a unique view of New York City. A great place to also visit is the Metropolitan Cloisters.
Donations from individuals like you, who help us run, maintain and program the park, account for over 100% of our yearly budget.
The City of New York owns the High Line, and we run it under a licensing arrangement with NYC Parks. Call (212) 500.6035 or go to their website for further information.