The High Line's Final Act

Today's topic is the recent opening of the third and final section of the famed High Line Park in West Manhattan. The High Line is an elevated park on the west side of Lower Manhattan that has been created from an old freight rail line. The High Line has been under construction since 2006, and the final section finally opened in September of this year.

I chose this topic for several reasons. Firstly, its the first architectural project I can remember peaking my interest without being the biggest of some variable. I've always been intrigued by the project. Secondly, its the development that sparked my love for urban refurbishment/renewal developments, so it only seems fitting to return to it for this assignment. I really am quite fascinated by the High Line. One of my favorite aspects of the development is the use of the old rail line and rail ties to create new features. In some places, the rails have been left exposed as an homage to the origins of the park. In others, the rails have been turned into playgrounds for children. Along the length of the park, rail ties have been used to create benches, picnic tables, and seesaws. I really appreciate designers who go out of their way to give credit to a project's history in their designs for a development.

One of the most interesting facts about the High Line that the final segment cost $35 million, despite only being a few dozen feet wide and less than half a mile long. The other phases each cost even more money for a similar size, making the High Line the most expensive park per acre ever. Although this seems like an extravagant amount of money for a city government to be spending, especially back during the worst of the recession, the park has been primarily funded and exclusively maintained by private donations. I praised the concept of public-private development ventures back in my post about the Cowboys new headquarters, and I was surprised to find such an agreement here. I've never heard of a public-private venture being used on a development that would normally be in the realm of the government. Usually they go the other way around. And I was especially surprised to see such a massive influx of private dollars on a park, which is usually one of the first things people demand spending cuts on in times of trouble.

Also, I find it very interesting the High Line is just the beginning of a much larger, much more expensive redevelopment project, that of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. In the coming years, what was formerly a rail yard will become home to 16 new skyscrapers, in one of the most expensive developments in American history. Although I've never been to New York, I am amazed by the scale and speed of the changes happening on the Far West side of Manhattan.