6/8/09 Following ten years of advocacy, urban planning, and five years of construction, the High Line is set to open tomorrow, June 9th. Section 1, the first to open, runs from Gansevoort to 20th Street.  Section 2, the remainder, runs to 30th Street is still under construction and projected to open in 2010, additionally pending development approval of the West Side Rail Yards.

Originally built in the 1930’s as part of a massive public-private infrastructure called the West Side Improvement, the elevated railway was abandoned in 1980 and otherwise faced demolition.  The City of New York committed $50 million to revamp the structure à la the Promenade Plantée in Paris, with 720 teams from 36 countries submitting design plans to preserve the historic space.  The High Line design team is led by landscape architecture and urban design firm James Corner Field Operations.

Visitors can enter from Gansevoort Street, and the High Line will be open daily from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.  On June 15th, Friends of the High Line will celebrate with First Party on the High Line.

Photography by Jesse Chehak and Paul Schlacter; courtesy of the High Line and flickr.

Posted by Erin Ryder

Tags: Erin Ryder, New York, Take the Trip, Urban Redevelopment