HIGH LINE, High Line

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the High Line.

Thanks to an inspired urban redevelopment project, the High Line has become the most famous abandoned railway line in the United States.

Let’s start from the beginning, though, in the early 20th century, when this area of Manhattan, around Chelsea and above all, the Meatpacking District, was both highly industrialized and deeply depressed. Overland shipping was not only difficult, but seriously dangerous, especially for pedestrians, who often fell victim to dramatic accidents. To put an end to this problem, 1934 saw the inauguration of the West Side Line, an elevated railway line that – despite its initial success – some 50 years later was abandoned to its fate, with repeated requests from the new local residents to dismantle it. However, thanks to the tenacity of the founders of the Friends of High Line organization, the “industrial ugly duckling” was turned into an “eco-friendly swan”, in the form of a spectacular linear park....