Here are scenes from the High Line of New York City, considered one of Manhattan’s most popular attractions. It isn’t that old: a group called Friends of the High Line formed in 1999 to create the public park, and they attracted enough wealthy donors to create and open it by 2009. The High Line is built upon abandoned rail road tracks that used to run out of the meat-packing district in the city. Taking inspiration from a similar public pathway developed in Paris in the 1990’s, the High Line runs almost a mile and a half in the southwestern part of the island.
The High Line is a model of successful urban greenscaping, having an enormous variety of trees and shrubs that have filled out the pathways — there is shade in the summer, and wind block in the winter, and when I was there today, the plants were turning into the jeweled colors of fall. Architecture is another fantastic element of the High Line, and there are great views of edgy contemporary buildings. The artwork along the path is a third element to appreciate — murals and sculpture abounds, and they change all the time.
I appreciate how many foreign languages I hear every time I am on the High Line — visitors from all over the world appreciate it as much as the native New Yorkers do.
