Reply With Quotelooks magical in its natural state. not contrived the way it ended up (designed to within an inch of its life).
Section 3: The End of the (High) Line
by michelle young
Section 2 of the High Line may be opening soon, but we went to check out controversial Section 3, along Hudson Yards. This section isn’t owned by the city yet–which means it could still be demolished–but in July 2010 it passed the ULURP review process. This means the city can now proceed with the option of purchasing and hopefully developing this final section of the High Line. ULURP stands for Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and is one of the major tools of urban planning and community participation in New York City. Not everything has to go through ULURP but acquisition of land by the city does.
In the concrete jungle that is New York, it’s surprising to see nature in its chaotic, uncontrolled form. Of course, James Corner and the other landscape architects worked in the natural flora with their design for the completed portions of the High Line. But here in Section 3, there’s still a true sense of discovery embedded: the unexpected nature of the path as we climbed around massive bushes and wooden planks, the one small evergreen tree flourishing in the midst, the palpable layering of nature over the man-made, and the undeniable importance of the railroad woven into the story of New York. Maybe it was the nature of being in a little-explored space, but with the backdrop of Hudson Yards, we felt inserted into the trajectories of history. I’ll let the photographs tell the rest.
The end of the line where the tracks disappear:
A glimpse through the brush:
looks magical in its natural state. not contrived the way it ended up (designed to within an inch of its life).
The last two being the best shots....
Simply taking those arboreal scenes and providing a more level footing would have been the best thing to do, although I do not know how you could do that and still keep the train tracks in their place......
What's seen on that final, undeveloped section of the HL does look great, but most plants would survive in that natural state for about 3 days given the number of visitors (now over 4,000,000) who have gone up on the HL since it opened 2 years ago. Never mind the fact, due to conditions on the ground, that no public agency would assume responsibility to allow folks up there under those natural and deteriorated conditions. Plus, if it were determined that the tracks should be kept in the current state then the City wouldn't accept transfer of ownership from CSX.
What's easily forgotten, now that the lower mile of the HL has been stabilized and renovated, is that before it was turned into the current park the elevated tracks leaked water onto privately owned lots underneath (CSX only owned the easement 30 feet above the ground, and the street level space and air rights were still owned by ~ 200 property owners). Plus there was the issue of all the nastiness left behind by trains running up there for all those years (fuel, heavy metals in the ballast). Not to mention all the peeling lead paint on the steel superstructure. Or the rotting wooden ties.
The result would be that the entire HL would now be torn down - per the demands of owners who hold title to property beneath the HL and who convinced CSX to file Demo Permits for the whole stretch circa 2000. Demo was put on hold only due to the efforts of FOTHL - and support from the newly elected Mayor Bloomberg.
Considering the two options, contrived is A-OK by me.
The other downside is that the popularity of the HL is driving new development in that area to such a degree that it risks being hemmed in by new buildings that will leave it near the bottom of a canyon with bricks, glass and metal rising along most of the stretch.
Watching that transformation over the next 10 years will be pretty fascinating.
Make sure you check out the others, thenOriginally Posted by Ninjahedge
- More pics at Untapped New York
I was initially very skeptical about the seemingly rather sterile-looking design in the renderings, but I now think a marvelous job was done. Having said that, the wild and natural version is very appealing and tempting. Perhaps it's the illegality of tiptoeing through the wildflowers.
Flashback: The High Line In 2002
a few more pics
Back in 2002, the High Line was completely undeveloped. Grass and native flowers grew on the track bed. Fences had been put up to block trespassing, but holes had been cut in all of them. This picture was taken near the North end of the line, around 30th Street.(LO5 ICF)
Last week we took a look at the new Phase II section of the High Line. While we wait for it to officially open in June, let's take a look back at how the Line used to look, long before construction on the park began (and including shots from the still undeveloped Phase III section).
http://gothamist.com/2011/05/27/flas...02.php#photo-1
High Line: the Sequel
By ROBIN POGREBIN
Slide Show
Photos by Hiroko Masuike and Fred R. Conrad (New York Times)
Friends of the High Line, the nonprofit group that with the New York City parks department maintains the elevated railway turned park by the Hudson River, has yet to announce an opening date for the second section, except to say it will be in June. The city is closely guarding that ribbon-cutting moment so that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg can fling wide the gates.
Once he does, visitors will discover a section with its own distinct identity, running from the current end, West 20th Street, to West 30th Street: a narrow corridor bounded on both sides by the hulking buildings that are part of the area’s manufacturing history. As an e-mail from the mayor’s office put it: “The High Line, an eyesore to critics a decade ago, has become one of the most innovative and successful parks anywhere in the world. The highly anticipated second section is distinct from the first but no less remarkable.”
“Its scale is more intimate,” said James Corner, the landscape architect whose firm, James Corner Field Operations, designed the High Line with the architects Diller Scofidio & Renfro. “It feels more removed from the big city and more immersed in the neighborhood.”
To some extent, High Line fans — two million people visited last year — will once again be left hanging: There is a third and final stretch, still to be completed, up to 34th Street, but its future is uncertain. (Section 1 extends from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street and 10th Avenue.) Proponents of the High Line hope that public enthusiasm will fuel a siren call for the path’s completion. “We like to think of it as a place where people revel in doing nothing, which is an anomaly for New Yorkers,” Elizabeth Diller, one of the architects, said. “It has an unscripted, unintended, unprogrammed timelessness. You just get lost in there.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/ny...m-to-roam.html
Yes yes yes, we know all of the perfectly sensible reasons why it could not have remained just the way it was. My remark was purely artistic, a philosophical point of view; I said it was magical that way, not that it was practical for tour groups and strollers.What's seen on that final, undeveloped section of the HL does look great, but most plants would survive in that natural state for about 3 days given the number of visitors (now over 4,000,000) who have gone up on the HL since it opened 2 years ago. Never mind the fact, due to...
Last edited by MidtownGuy; May 29th, 2011 at 08:11 AM.
Opens June 8, 2011
Phase II of the High Line Will Open Next Wednesday
CURBED
Section 2 Opens Next Week
High Line Newsletter
We are excited to announce that Wednesday, June 8, will be the first full day that Section 2 of the High Line is open to the public.
Twelve years ago, when Friends of the High Line was formed, it was hard to imagine this day was possible. Section 2 extends the High Line ten blocks north to West 30th Street, connecting three neighborhoods along Manhattan's West Side, and bringing visitors to the threshold of the High Line at the rail yards. We are grateful to every elected official, donor, member, community partner, volunteer, and supporter who helped pave the way for this historic moment ...
PLEASE NOTE
Because crowding may occur in the opening weeks, please check our Web site for updates about park conditions before you visit.
When does everyone think it would be a good time to go? I'm thinking maybe a weekday after the opening week(?)
To avoid the crowds when Sec 2 opens: Weekday mornings up till 11 AM tend to be far less crowded. And after 8PM, when the sun is down and the lighting is in full effect.
Part of the fun up on the HL can sometimes include the mass of people strolling along. In Sec 1 there's almost always a way to move around the crowds. But Sec 2 tends to be far narrower than most of Sec 1; a stroller or two could back things up for blocks.
I really don't get it. You think they would have seen the flaws in phase I and corrected this kind of problem. People flopping along the sidewalk kind of drive me nuts, unless they're clearly disabled or elderly.
Hard to correct that when the HL north of 17th Street is basically 30' wide for the entire stretch north (with a few areas somewhat wider where side rail spurs for offloading trains directly into buildings were originally constructed). Up along the northern stretch there really aren't any areas like the wide expanse near the Standard or the double levels around the Chelsea Market. Balancing the amount of greenery (generally ~ 70%) to pathway (~ 30%) was a huge design problem. If they'd created a higher % of pathway then the expanse of concrete overtakes garden. And in a long narrow stretch, if the pathway is widened out then that in itself creates a congregating area which quickly becomes a bottleneck as it narrows.
One logical solution would be to outlaw baby strollers (as they've done with bicycles, scooters, etc.). But imagine the uproar ...
Uproar away - strollers are banned in other places. Those double-wide Humvee strollers, the overgrown screaming kids in them, and their entitled parents (on cell phones) are among the biggest nuisances imaginable.
My subway car today was blocked by a logjam of strollers
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