NYC's High Line, "the second Central Park"

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GOOD Mag Video: Edward Norton and The High Line

 

Edward Norton and Friends of the High Line are helping convert a historic 1.5-mile-elevated railway into a public park. Directed by David Sampliner, Produced by Bristol Baughan, Edited by Lindsay Utz and music by Talkdemonic and Yacht. Preliminary Design Images: All images created by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Permission to reproduce images: Courtesy The City of New York, © 2004. High Line Portraits: Joel Sternfeld © 2000. Historical Photographs: George A. Fuller, builder, courtesy of archiveofindustry.com James Shaughnessy, 1953

 

 

Highline New York / Zooming in, an architect's view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyVGEOYlhNw

 

here's an old film of another one of NY's elevated trains- gives a context:

 

3rd Avenue El - early 1950's:

 

...railways tie communities together, and now the old High Line can act as a park

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SOME IMAGES of The High Line, to go with the articles

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KunstlerCast #86: The High Line (NYC)

 

Rails to Freakish Parks

 

 

Released: Oct. 29, 2009.

 

James Howard Kunstler discusses two major projects that have recently turned 19th century railroad structures into parks: the High Line in lower Manhattan and the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The High Line is a unique park in New York City, built upon a former elevated rail line that used to bring trains through buildings. Although the High Line gives reprieve to New Yorkers, Kunstler finds it to be an accidental freak of urban nature. We would benefit more from the deliberate creation of beautifully designed streets and boulevards at grade level. The Walkway Over the Hudson is an extremely long railroad bridge that now serves as a pedestrian park. On the plus side, Kunstler believes this type of project might protect the bridge so that it doesn't completely fall apart. But he finds it tragic that America has discarded the major investments it once made in a rail system. A listener caller who is an urban planner in Vancouver shares his thoughts on adaptive reuse of buildings.

 

/listen: http://media.libsyn.com/media/kunstlercast...tlerCast_86.mp3

 

/see: http://kunstlercast.com/