High Line Hijinks

This is a post that I've wanted to put up here forever and I kept putting it off because it required a search through old photos. Done, finally! I am becoming much more proactive in 2010.



This year I visited the new and amazing High Line, a park in New York City that has been created out of an old stretch of railway line. The line was above-ground on the west side of the city, and it was closed for years. Now it's been refurbished and replanted and there are wild plants, amazing wooden benches for sunbathing, art installations - basically it's the best park ever.



To all Glee fans, PLEASE NOTE THE BILLBOARD! How could I not have taken note of this earlier? I would've started watching much sooner.



I learned on an educational Jet Blue flight (TV watching can teach you things!) that the plants were specifically chosen because they can grow wild there. And many of the railway pieces were added to help with authenticity.



And the traffic observation deck (above) is genius.

One of the reasons I was so excited about this park is that I visited the High Line before it was re-done, while I was still a student. In the company of two creative, adventurous friends, I snuck through a fence and onto the tracks. At that time everything was gray and deserted, and probably pretty hazardous. But it was totally enchanting. We were above some of the city's most busy streets, walking over traffic and pedestrians and stores, peering into apartment windows. We were exposed, but felt totally hidden.


(I took this photo on 1600 ISO film, which is why it's so grainy. Ah, the days of real film!)

It's wonderful to see the new park but I have to admit that there was a tinge of something bittersweet. I'm so glad that I saw it "before" - I think that the experience really enabled me to appreciate the current "after". The place in the photo above doesn't exist anymore - but now it can be appreciated by everyone. I guess I'm just barely unselfish enough to be happy about that, and still pleased that I got to be an explorer there, once upon a time.

(Sorry for the cheesy blog title. Couldn't resist.)